


Second Coming

by Qwerty224



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I write this fic at 3 am, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm tired, Kiba replaces sakura, Minato replaces naruto, My First Fanfic, some minor bashing involved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 120,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23218231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qwerty224/pseuds/Qwerty224
Summary: An incident during the sealing of the Kyuubi no Yoko leaves Minato trapped in the body of his son.What happened to Naruto?How will this affect the Elemental Nations?
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 41
Kudos: 59





	1. Bloody Days

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo…This is my first ever fanfic... I would really appreciate any sort of reviews but please be kind. This fic is inspired by English-Illiterate’s fic Second Life on fanfiction.net as well as many other fanfics that are way higher in quality.

**Chapter 1 Bloody Days**

“ **_Shiki Fuin!_ ** _ ” _

Clapping his hands together, Namikaze Minato prepared for his last act in life, the sealing of the Kyuubi no Yoko. 

Roaring in rage, the Kyuubi thrashed its nine long tails futilely against the golden chains binding it to the ground, shaking the small forest clearing. The fox’s fur was a bright fiery orange and its size dwarfed mountains. The sheer ferocity and anger pouring off of the beast made Minato tremble inside. 

Minato made eye contact with his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, who was watching him in horror as she did her best to contain the great fox.    
  


“Let's believe in this child! He  _ is _ our son after all!”

The ghastly white apparition of the Shinigami began forming behind him. ”I will die for my son… It is my duty as his father.”    
  


Gazing into Minato’s eyes, Kushina was left speechless by his resolve. 

The Shinigami plunged its right hand through Minato, and its hand became transparent as it protruded from Minato’s chest. Minato directed the death god’s hand, shooting it out and grasping onto the Kyuubi’s chest. The hand retracted, dragging the Kyuubi’s Yin half, along with a mass of chakra. Minato gasped as the chakra slammed into his body, burning all of his chakra coils. Grunting in pain, he fell to his knees as he dealt with the strain of having an enormous mass of chakra shoved inside him.

Behind him, still held down by Kushina’s golden chakra chains, the great Kyuubi no Yoko snarled in pain at the feeling of his very essence being torn in half. The great fox shrunk to less than half his original size.

Looking up again, the Kyuubi saw a rather foreboding sight. 

“ _ A ritual altar? He’s planning to seal me up again? Inside that infant?”  _

The Kyuubi watched in trepidation as Minato lowered his son into a hastily prepared cradle surrounded by candles.

Suddenly, Kushina gasped, collapsing to the ground and hacking up blood. Her golden chains loosened. The strain of having given birth combined with the side effects of having the Kyuubi ripped from her system finally showed itself. 

  
“Kushina?” Minato yelled, turning away from his preparations. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Kyuubi lashed out in defiance, aiming for the infant. 

“ _ NO!”  _ Shouted Minato and Kushina as they desperately threw themselves in front of the lethal blow. 

Enduring the sudden agony of the claw piercing through their chests, they grabbed on, feet skidding against the ground slowing the momentum of the blow. They narrowly prevented the tip of the claw from touching their newborn son.

Impaled upon the Kyuubi’s claw, Minato coughed out blood and spoke.

“I said I was his father… Dying for him is my right.”

“...I’m his mother. It’s my right too!” Shot back Kushina. “This is the first time… I’ve lost an argument against you… It proves how serious you are…”    
  


“...Thanks, Kushina.”    
  


Minato summoned the scroll toad, Gerotora, and transferred the key for the Shiki Fuin seal to him and dismissed the summon.    
  


“Kushina… I’m not going to last much longer... I’m launching the eight pronged seal now… So I can put some of our chakra inside Naruto! Let’s tell him what we want to say to him…” 

Kushina did her best to condense all of her feelings into a few short sentences as she cried over lost opportunities... 

While Kushina rambled, Minato watched in horror as the blood that dripped off the Kyuubi’s claw smudged a small but vital part of the slowly forming seal on his son’s stomach. 

_ ‘Damn! The soul matrices! I can’t fix this in my condition! There’s no telling what will happen now!’ Thought Minato. _

“Naruto… My words to you as your father… Are same as your chatty mother I guess… I'm sorry for what may happen next...”    
__

‘ _ This is it, then. I can only pray that nothing too bad will happen to Naruto… I’m sorry, my son… I believe in you...’ _ _  
  
_

A harsh cry of denial came from the Kyuubi, who felt his newly gained freedom slipping away. In a flash of light the sealing was completed, the kyuubi dissolving into pure chakra and drawn into the seal on Naruto’s navel.

The only thing holding up Minato and Kushina had been the claw that impaled them. They collapsed along with the barrier surrounding the sealing site. 

“Minato!” Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, came running up to his fallen body. “What have you done!” Falling to his knees, the Sandaime began a healing jutsu, though he knew it was a lost cause. 

“Sarutobi-sama...  _ -cough- _ Please… This is my son Naruto…Uzumaki... I have sealed half of the Kyuubi’s chakra into him...  _ -cough-  _ Please have him treated as the hero he deserves to be… Please, take care of him...”   
  


“Minato… Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility of him for you…” said the Sandaime solemnly, ending his healing efforts.

With those last words, Minato nodded weakly at the Sandaime and sighed. His last thoughts lingering in his mind, Minato closed his eyes for the last time, a feeling of falling slowly into the darkness overtaking his body… 

* * *

  
  
  


Only to have his eyes immediately snap open again. 

Suddenly, everything was too bright, too loud, too blurry, too vibrant. Simply too much. Colors were swirling hazily in front of his eyes, and Minato felt all too weak. There were shouts coming from all around him, but it seemed as if he was hearing everything from underwater.    
  


_‘Would the afterlife really be this chaotic?_ _What is this? Is this...? Could it be...? Am I still alive? What's happening?’_ he wondered.

“Quickly! The Yondaime is over here!”

“Kushina-san! Yondaime-sama!”

“Seal the bodies!”

“How did the Kyuubi escape?” 

“Sandaime-sama! What happened to the Kyuubi?” 

‘ _ I’m still alive…?’ _

The surroundings were a flurry of frantic movements as Minato did his best to gauge what was happening. The Sandaime Hokage was shouting orders and directing various teams of shinobi while the ninja hurried to fulfill those orders. 

Meanwhile Minato was still having troubles with his sight and hearing. He performed standard assessment procedures, checking every limb and sense and evaluating his body for injuries… 

What he found was worrying on several levels. He couldn’t see properly, only vague shapes and bright lights. His hearing and sense of smell were somehow significantly improved but now everything was simply too overwhelming for him to process. There also seemed to be a strange unidentified heat that was emanating from his abdomen. When he tried moving his limbs, he discovered that they would not respond. His fingers were lacking in fine motor control and seemed to be stuck in fists. He couldn’t gather any strength to sit up either. Looking down at his body with bleary eyes brought a disturbing revelation. His limbs were tiny! He was naked! He had somehow shrunk and become extremely weak!

He watched as a dark shape loomed over him in panic. Just as the shape picked him up, he started to hyperventilate uncontrollably.    
  
“Oh… Oh… Naruto my boy I’m so sorry…” Cooed the Sandaime. 

_ ‘WAIT, WHAT? NARUTO?’ _

  
No. No. Nononono. This couldn’t be happening.

He began crying uncontrollably, body refusing any attempts to breathe properly and calm down. 

_ ‘Am I in Naruto’s body?! How is this possible? The Shinigami should have taken my soul! Did I somehow get swapped with Naruto?! Was sealing a chakra imprint the wrong choice? No no no. That can’t be it, the soul matrix only dealt with the separation of the Kyuubi’s soul and Naruto’s! Did the blood swap targets? But then what happened to Kushina? This is a mess! Who knows when the masked man will be back as well? This shouldn’t have happened! How can I fix this?’ _

While Minato was panicking, the Sandaime had stood and was slowly walking away from the tragic scene to help coordinate efforts to begin recovery. Many disaster relief scenarios were running through his mind as he absently rocked the baby in his arms. 

“Call a council. We must begin recovery efforts and deal with the backlash of this event. We have lost many fine Shinobi tonight, and we cannot afford to look weak to the other hidden villages,” the Sandaime said to a nearby Anbu. 

“Hai!” 

* * *

  
  
  


Clan heads and council members slowly filed into the large council room.    
  
Still held in the Sandaime’s arms, Minato was relieved. From what he could barely make out with his young eyes, many council members were still alive and not critically injured by the Kyuubi attack. He had shelved his panic and theories to deal with them at a later time. His body was tiring quickly. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he had a council meeting to endure.   
  
He could see that the fierce Inuzuka clan head Tsume had her arm in a sling and looked very ragged while Inoichi the head of the Yamanaka clan leaned on Choza, the head of the Akimichis and Shikaku, head of the Naras trailed in tiredly behind them. The head of the Aburames, Aburame Shibi, had limped into the room supported by Hiashi of the Hyuuga clan while Fugaku, who was head of the Uchiha clan, looking perfectly fine, led a group of distressed civilian council members in. 

Koharu, Homura, and Danzo, the Sandaime’s advisors, took up positions next to the Sandaime. The council began as the rest of the civilian members were slowly settled in. 

The Sandaime stood and addressed his council. “Today we have suffered massive losses, including the death of our Yondaime. The reason for the release of the Kyuubi is unknown as of now. Investigations are still underway to determine how exactly the Kyuubi was freed, but for now we must focus on recovery. I will be taking up my previous position as Hokage again during this time.”    
  


Murmurs of assent went around the room as Danzo started with a frown but stayed silent. 

The Sandaime covered his face, “Now then. The sad numbers please, Shikaku.”    
  
Shikaku stood and delivered his report, “Yes sir. We have a tentative total death toll of roughly 2,000 shinobi and 1,300 civilian tonight. Injuries are still being tallied and expected to be over 5,000.”    
  


The Sandaime sighed, “I see… We were lucky that the Kyuubi was summoned on the outskirts of the village…”   
  
“Sandaime-sama, what do you mean by summoned?”    
  
The Sandaime sighed again. Sitting back down, he suddenly seemed to have aged by fifty years as he looked down.    
  
“The Anbu team guarding our previous jinchuuriki was found murdered by an unknown intruder who then kidnapped and extracted the Kyuubi. As I said before, investigations are underway to determine how the locations of our previous Jinchuuriki were leaked and who the individual was.” 

Danzo hummed and put his hand to his chin.

“Sarutobi, many witnesses remarked upon seeing the sharingan in the Kyuubi’s eyes tonight…”   
  
Fugaku stood sharply, “Danzo, are you implying something?”    
  
“How many Uchiha are in the casualties? It seems that the Uchiha compound has avoided most of the damages as well…”    
  
“We are loyal leaf shinobi! The Uchiha police force was tasked with ensuring the civilians were safe! That is why the civilian count is much lower than it would have been!”    
  
“Silence!” shouted the Sandaime, slamming his hand down on the table. “We will discuss this at a different time. There are many more pressing matters to be discussed. We can not afford to be divided in our dire straits. Other villages will want to take advantage of our weakened state!”   
  


Fugaku and Danzo both acquiesced as Fugaku sat down, glaring sharply at Danzo. Danzo merely sighed, an ugly gleam entering his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. 

After discussing losses, possible solutions, and delegating various responsibilities for a few hours, someone finally addressed the elephant in the room, or rather, child in the room. 

“Sandaime-sama, what is that baby doing here?” 

“The Yondaime sacrificed his life using the  _ Shiki Fuin _ to seal the Kyuubi in to this child. His name is Naruto Uzumaki.” 

Immediately there was an uproar in the council, waking the dozing baby. Many of the civilian heads called for the death of the demon vessel while the clan heads absorbed the information in shock. 

“Silence!” shouted the Sandaime along with a burst of his killing intent. “This child is a hero for containing the demon. I will not have a mere baby put to death for what he contains. In fact, even if we did kill this baby, the Kyuubi would simply reform out of our control.” 

“Sarutobi, give the Jinchuuriki to me. I will train it to the best of my abilities. Konoha will need the strength in the coming days,” said Danzo. 

Sarutobi glared harshly at Danzo. “No! He will not be treated as an emotionless weapon. Minato wanted this child to be treated as a hero. He will have a normal childhood.”    
  


“Hiruzen, you are too soft! If he were to have a normal childhood, we would not have the power to face the other villages!”    
  
“My decision is final! He will join the academy when he is ready!”    
  
Danzo huffed and clenched his fists under the table. The various council members sat in silence for a while as the Sandaime’s decree settled over them. Minato secretly sighed in relief. There was gratitude for the kindly old man at being spared the fate of emotionless tool.   
  
“Then… Sandaime-sama… Who will raise the Jinchuuriki?” Asked Hiashi.    
  


Tsume stood bravely. “Sandaime-sama, I will take in the pup.” 

Minato felt a rush of affection for the brash clan head, grateful that one of Kushina’s close friends had connected the dots and was willing to stick their neck out for his son.    
  
“We cannot simply give the jinchuuriki to the Inuzukas!” yelled Fugaku.

“And what is that supposed to mean, huh?” Tsume quickly retorted.    
  
“Troublesome. The Naras could take him in.” huffed Shikaku.   
  
“Hmm…. The Yamanakas could as well…” said Inoichi.   
  
“Akimichi could work too.” Choza stated.   
  
Aburame Shibi pushed his glasses up. “I believe that my clan can take in the Jinchuuriki. Why? Because we Aburame are distanced from a majority of village politics.”    
  
“The Hyuuga would be honored to train the Jinchuuriki.”    
  
“Uchiha should take the Jinchuuriki.”    
  


Minato felt heartened at all of his friends’ support, and he held the tiniest bit of hope that all could go well, until a cold voice brought it all crashing down. 

  
Homura slapped his hand on the table. “No. None of the clans should take the Jinchuuriki. It would upset the balance between the clans.”    
  
Koharu nodded. “Indeed. There is no straightforward answer to this.”   
  
“...I could take the Jinchuuriki, if you would just-” Danzo tried once more.    
  
“Enough.” The Sandaime stood again “He will go to the orphanage, and his status as Jinchuuriki shall be deemed an S-rank secret until he is Chuunin.” 

Danzo’s frown deepened _‘Hiruzen._ _You have truly grown too soft. No matter. I will fix this. The great tree can only truly flourish because of its shadowed roots.’_ _  
  
_

The meeting was quickly adjourned and as the members stood to leave, a truly heart-breaking sound rang out.  __   
  


Thankfully, as a baby it was not out of the norm when Minato couldn’t control himself and started wailing. 

He wanted to rage, sob, and shout. He wanted to throttle the Sandaime and his advisors. The orphan life wasn’t a life he wished on anyone! Especially his son! He didn’t know it was possible to reach the levels of anger and despair he was currently experiencing. 

* * *

The Sandaime left the council room at a slow plod, sighing as he went. There was much work to be done, and young Naruto wouldn’t stop crying. 

Back at his quiet office, there was an unexpected visitor waiting for him. 

“Jiraiya! Where have you been!?” The Sandaime shouted in anger.

Waving his hands in front of him frantically, Jiraiya replied, “Calm down, Sensei! I just arrived ten minutes ago… I missed the attack. Where's the Gaki?” 

The Sandaime sighed, “Minato is dead, Jiraiya… He used the Shiki Fuin to seal the Kyuubi into this child.” 

Jiraiya choked back tears as he looked down in grief. Looking at the child in the Sandaime’s arms he came to a somber conclusion.“Sensei, is that his own son?” 

“Yes. Just as he died, he told me he wanted his son to be seen as a hero and that his name was Naruto Uzumaki.” 

“I see. What will happen to him now?” 

“He will go to the orphanage and his status as Jinchuuriki will remain an S-rank secret until he has attained the rank of Chuunin. Unless, of course, you would like to take him in as his godfather?” 

“Why would he go to the orphanage? What about Kushina? 

“The Kyuubi was released, what do you think happened to Kushina?” 

“….Ah ...I can’t take him Sensei. I have my spy network to run. Tsunade could look after the brat.”

“Hmm… You’re right. You shouldn’t take him anyways because it would be too obvious to Iwa that the Yellow Flash had a son if you were to take in a blonde haired baby…” 

The sheer disappointment Minato held for his former teacher could not be described. He had fondly remembered the moment he and Kushina had named Jiraiya the godfather. 

_ “Naruto, eh?” Jiraiya said, setting down his teacup. _

_ “That’s right, Sensei! It’s a great name, after all! I was very inspired by your new book and I hope that the name and ideals behind it will serve my son well in the future.” Minato replied, picking up the tea kettle and topping off Jiraiya’s cup.  _

_ “That’s right Dattebane!” Chirped Kushina who has just walked into the room.  _

_ “Ah well, it was just something I came up with while eating ramen, hahaha!” Jiraiya laughed, slapping the table. _

_ Kushina leaned over Minato and pecked him on the cheek. “We would like to name you as godfather if anything were to happen to us, Jiraiya. We trust you a lot, Dattebane!” She threw her arms around Minato she stared at Jiraiya with a pair of hopeful, watery eyes.  _

_ “Hahaha! Well then! I would be honored!”  _

Lost in thought, Minato nearly missed Jiraiya’s next response.

“Yeah. Uh, that too… Anyway, I originally came here to bring news of a new criminal organization.” 

“And what is so significant about this new organization?” 

“It’s a group called the Akatsuki. Rumor has it that it’s a group filled with S-rank missing nin and that they’re searching for the tailed beasts.” 

‘ _ Searching for the tailed beasts? Perhaps the masked man was a part of this Akatsuki?”  _ Minato thought.

“I see… Then the information about Naruto must be guarded with utmost importance…” 

“Yeah. Sensei, in the meantime, I’ll be looking for more information on this group.” 

“Of course Jiraiya. We must keep Konoha safe, it’s what Minato wanted after all…” 

“Yeah…” 

Both men shared a moment of silence for the fallen Kage. Wrapping up the short encounter, they left to fulfill their duties. The Sandaime headed off to the local orphanage to drop off Naruto, and Jiraiya went off to the next town’s hot springs, leaving Minato to contemplate and mourn his new situation. 

* * *

Betrayal was a bitter friend. 

This was his son! His last request was to take care of his son! This was not what was supposed to happen! What happened to taking full responsibility?! 

Sarutobi and Jiraya had just spat over everything he had given his life for. 

Minato knew better than most of the fate that awaited at an orphanage. He had been an orphan himself. Growing up as an orphan in a Shinobi village was a painful and grueling experience. He hadn’t been a child that stood out among the masses aside from his bright hair. He had slaved over and cherished every last drop of acknowledgement and attention that he could get. As an orphan, he had no significant bonds. Who would even give the time of day to one specific orphan out of the many others?

By protecting the village to the best of his abilities, he had something to live for. He had no one and wanted someone, so he devoted himself to the will of fire. He worked to become the perfect shinobi and he stained his hands with blood in the name of Konoha.

Minato’s life starting out was extremely difficult. With no clan or significant backing behind him, he had to find ways to increase his strength outside of regular academy lessons. It was a basic fact of the world that clan children had numerous advantages over civilian children. Even more so over orphan civilian children.

Minato had raided the Shinobi library for any drop of useful information and then dug through the discarded scrolls of various Konoha clans in trash heaps. He scavenged the numerous training grounds for any kind of tools, including discarded kunai, ninja wire, and shuriken. He spied on Jounin drilling their Genin teams and other training ninja despite the disdain.

He trained himself into the ground, and then took a shovel and dug just a bit deeper. 

Originally, he’d bulldozed through the solitude of being an orphan with a false cheer and exuberance. He had built himself up from nothing and the thought of having to do it all over again… Well, Minato wasn’t happy, to say the least. 

It was crushing to have his efforts ripped away from him and the realization that the same suffocating loneliness of the orphanage was his son’s fate was damning. The council meeting was the most despairing thing he had ever experienced, and that's saying a lot for someone who had survived the third Shinobi war. 

All along, his life had been the definition of loneliness. Sure, he had friends, but there was no one who _truly_ _understood._ Kids at the orphanage couldn’t understand his drive to become an excellent Shinobi and gain recognition. The teens at the academy couldn’t hide their envy when he was picked for a Sannin’s Genin team. Regular Jounins were intimidated by his reputation. As Hokage, it ensured that all Shinobi held him at arms distance out of respect and deference.

His only true respite from the cold suffocating solitude was someone who could understand him in equal measure. Someone who had lost everything. Someone with a similar void. Uzumaki Kushina. 

Rocketing through the ranks had filled the cold void somewhat, but it wasn’t until he manned up and asked out a certain red headed terror that he truly felt fulfilled.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about his now lost love. 

The brash redheaded girl that he first saw declaring herself as the next Hokage after what must have been a traumatic loss, struck a chord deep within him. 

Uzushio’s fall appeared to do nothing to dull the fire that hid her pain. It was simply enrapturing to Minato the way she held herself with confidence and bravado. In her was a similar desperation for companionship and respect. His fall and eventual whirlwind romance that followed was simply inevitable. Like a moth he was drawn in, burned, and consumed. 

Minato regularly gave everything for others and never had someone who would do the same for him until Kushina. When he finally obtained the name of Kage, he sacrificed it all in the name of an ideal he could finally believe in. The king of Konoha was the future generation, and he understood that now.

And he had wanted. He wanted a family so badly. He wanted that warmth and comfort. He wanted that closeness and love. When it was closest to him, it was cruelly ripped away. And now? Now he would have nothing. 

  
  



	2. Baby Days

**Chapter 2 Baby Days**

  
  


“Waaah! Wahhhh! Wahhhhh!” 

“Shut up, you filthy demon!” Came a harsh rebuke.  
  
Stunned into silence, the baby appeared to stare in shock at the Matron, as if asking why she would shout at an infant. 

“Annoying beast! Stay quiet!” 

‘ _ How does she know? Isn’t the Jinchuuriki status supposed to be secret?’  _ Minato thought. He’d been crying out of hope that someone would feed him, but this was some truly unexpected treatment. 

This wasn’t good. Enemies looking to kidnap a new Jinchuuriki would easily find him, and there was no telling how citizens would react if this matron was any indication. Unless the orphanage had been told specifically? Somehow Minato doubted that that was the case.

It seemed that the matron had lost someone important during the Kyuubi attack and was taking it out on him. This was quickly picked up on and perpetuated by the rest of the caretakers in the orphanage. As an infant, he was regularly neglected and left to rot in a cold, damp room by himself. His feedings were few and far between. Any cries for help were ignored or rebuffed with violent shouts. 

And so time passed slowly and with increasing monotony. Months flew by. Driven by nerves and fear at being a potential father, Minato had purchased all the books in the parenting section at konoha's bookstores. He was well versed with the developmental rate of an infant. All he had to do was follow the general benchmarks and how could pass himself off as a normal baby. Or so he thought.

  
  


To say that the matron of the Konohagakure orphanage was disturbed by the Kyuubi child would be an understatement at the least. The fox brat was unnerving on the best of days and absolutely demonic on the worst. It was too observant. Too quiet. Too judging.

It was a lot harder to pretend to be a baby when you were a fully grown adult. Contact with other babies was minimal since his caretakers had the tendency to isolate him and leave him to his own devices, but they definitely took notice of his abnormal growth rate. 

It was the subtle things that made him different. At first it was dismissed as mental tricks. That baby isn’t tracking you around the room! It can’t even see properly yet! That baby didn’t just sit up! They can’t do that yet! 

Eventually it was chalked up to an elevated development rate, but the way he had no interest in his toys, the way he would knowingly follow words as if he could read already, and the way he could already recognize faces and track people around a room… It was simply unnatural. 

Of course, every little suspicion of the caretakers eventually made it out to the public in the form of rumor. The Hokage hoped that the rumors would die down as the boy grew. The citizens of the village became more and more nervous with the quick development of the demon baby. Somehow, despite it being an S-rank secret, Naruto’s status as a demon container had slipped out to the general civilian populace. 

Minato himself was unaware of the whispers surrounding his infant son; he was just aware of how deathly bored he was. It was slow going, but he made the most of it. Every minute spent as a baby was a minute spent subtly expanding his Shinobi skills. 

As a baby there really wasn’t much to do aside from eating and sleeping. The routine of eat, sleep, wake, eat, sleep, wake, quickly grew dull for a twenty four year old genius stuck as a baby. 

After the first few uncomfortable days spent slowly adapting and mourning his situation, Minato quickly ran out of ways to fret. And so he slowly whittled away time by practicing chakra control exercises, meditating, expelling all his chakra to stretch his chakra coils, or honing his sensing abilities. 

As an infant, his new body already had chakra levels comparable to an average Genin, and his reserves would only continue to grow; indicating he could be ninjutsu powerhouse in the near future. 

It was during this period of slow development that several notable things happened. He discovered a new aspect of his sensory abilities, survived his first assasination attempt, and made contact with the Kyuubi himself.

His first assasination was rather tame so to speak. It had been swiftly dealt with by the watching ANBU agent assigned to him, but it did set a precedent for future attempts. 

Prior to the assasination, attempt Minato had discovered that he was able to finely sense the emotions of the people surrounding him. It was a strange feeling compared to before when he was only able to sense presences. Now it felt as if each presence had an emotional echo behind it that he could feel. From the regular ANBU guard that was assigned to him he learned that finely honed chakra control would hide someone's true emotions somewhat, but there would still be telltale quivers that could seep through. But what disturbed Minato the most was when there would be an extra presence outside his window aside from the regular ANBU, it would feel like a void of emotions. Just utter emptiness, barely human. Could this be what Danzo’s Root nin felt like? They were keeping tabs on the Jinchuuriki already? 

One dark and stormy night, Minato woke up to a presence oozing pain and anger. It was an ominous feeling of hate and grief that deeply concerned him. He noticed a dark shape that was giving off the sensation slip into his room. Minato had watched from his crib in trepidation as the shadowed figure slowly crept across the floor towards him. As the figure looked over him he noticed it was a rather young woman with angry tears trailing down her cheeks. She lifted the pillow in his crib and placed it over his face. 

“This is for my family, you foul demon!” She hissed under her breath.

She didn’t even have time to really start pressing down before there was a surge of protective anger from outside the window. The woman was quickly tackled and knocked out by a masked figure with bright silver hair.    
  


_ ‘Kakashi?! His stealth skills and chakra control have really improved! I need to improve my sensing abilities… I didn't even know it was him there until he reacted…’  _

The woman was dragged from the room rather harshly by the young ANBU agent, and Minato was left once more to stew in his thoughts. He worried for his former student. Knowing Kakashi, the boy must have thrown himself into mission after mission to cope with yet another grave loss.

Minato grieved for Kakashi’s lost youth. 

Somewhere in Konoha, rebuilding a wall with exuberance, a young man dressed in a tight green bodysuit sneezed. 

Due to this incident Minato was moved to another recently rebuilt orphanage near the outskirts of Konoha. Not that the treatment there was much better though… 

As for his meeting with the nine tailed fox? Well it went a little something like this. 

One day while meditating Minato decided to visit his mindscape to see if there was any evidence as to what happened to Naruto. He couldn’t accept that this was his new reality. Replacing his son wasn’t something he wanted. What kind of father would sacrifice his own son after all? 

Drip. Drip. Drip. 

_ ‘Strange... is something leaking?’  _

Opening his eyes Minato was greeted by the sight of a dark sewer. The walls were damp and lined with pipes, and a thin layer of dirty water covered the floor. Guttering torches were placed sporadically along the walls, and the dark tunnels led off far into the distance. 

_ ‘Is this my mindscape? Was what happened during the sealing so traumatic that it reverted my golden plain to this mess? I know this is what my mindscape looked like before I learned how to fix it ... But still… Or is this because I’m in a different body?’  _

Minato glanced down as he realized that his point of view was rather familiar.  _ ‘Huh. I’m in my old body again? But then does that mean Naruto is here?’  _

A spark of hope lit up in Minato’s heart.  _ ‘If I can find Naruto here, maybe I can fix this and give him his body back!’  _

Walking down the dimly lit tunnel in front of him, Minato soon came upon a massive cage which was held shut by a large piece of paper. The word “seal” was written upon it.. 

**“YONDAIME!!”**

The shout was followed by a claw which came hurtling out of the darkness towards Minato. He swiftly dodged to the side.    
  
**“COME HERE I’LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!”** The Kyuubi roared from behind the bars. **  
** **  
** **“** Ah… No thank you…” Minato awkwardly responded, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. 

**“COME HERE TO GLOAT OVER YOUR PRISONER? HUH?”** **  
** **  
** Bowing deeply, Minato said, “Ah. Actually no, I deeply apologize for your situation.”    
  
**“SO PITY IS IT? I DON’T NEED YOUR FILTHY HUMAN EMOTIONS! RELEASE ME!”**

“I’m sorry I had to seal you away, but I can’t let you go without dire consequences.”    
  
**“OF COURSE. YOU SELFISH HUMANS ALWAYS PLACE YOURSELVES FIRST”** The Kyuubi humphed, crossing his arms.  **  
** **  
** “I am sorry Kyuubi-sama, but if I were to release you it would result in the death of my son. Eventually someone else would seal you away again. You are too powerful, and humanity has no other way of protecting themselves.” 

**“YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT OKAY?”**

”No, of course not, Kyuubi-Sama. I know you didn’t intentionally attack Konoha, but I cannot allow my home to come to harm. My precious people live here after all. I sacrificed myself so that I could protect this village. But if it’s not too presumptions, if I could ask for your assistance I would be deeply grateful.”

**“YOU CANNOT FOOL ME. I SEE NOW YOU REVEAL YOUR TRUE COLORS HUMAN.”** The Kyuubi growled and laid back down  **“YOU ONLY DESIRE MY POWER, CORRECT? THAT’S ALL YOU HUMANS EVER WANT FROM ME ASIDE FROM KEEPING ME LOCKED AWAY.”**

“Ah, actually no, though I do apologize for the misunderstanding. I need help looking for my son. He should be in here somewhere…” 

**“What.”**

“Eheh…” Minato scratched his head awkwardly, “Something went wrong during the sealing, and I somehow ended up in your vessel’s body, or well, my son’s body… I’m hoping I can fix this.”

The Kyuubi sat back in thought, contemplating this strange new occurrence that had distracted him from his rage. The human was strange, addressing him with respect and apologizing for his unfortunate circumstances. He looked at the seal holding him in his cage, noticing a strange blot on one of the prongs of the eight signed seal. He pointed at it accusingly. 

**“Human. What is this blot on the seal.”**

“Oh that. I think that’s what caused this problem in the first place. When you, ah, impaled us.” He choked for a bit, thinking of Kushina, his next words coming out strained, “some blood dripped off your claw onto the seal.” 

**“Humph. I see. Perhaps this defect on the soul separation matrix swapped the subject of the sacrifice to the Shinigami.”**

“Oh, so you do have some sealing knowledge?”

**“Do not patronize me, filthy human. I was sealed into two Uzumakis, and what prisoner wouldn’t learn everything they could about the thing jailing them?”**

“Ah yes, of course, I apologize. I wasn’t aware you had access to their knowledge. I studied Kushina’s seal, but the mind separation sequence wasn’t specific enough in detailing what could be shared between Jinchuuriki and Biju. Kushina also didn’t tell me much about her interactions with you.” 

**“Humph, of course not. She barely even ‘interacted’ with me. I was left to rot. Chained to a giant moon with stakes driven through me. She foolishly believed that love was what could hold me back. Some nonsense Mito no doubt filled her mind with.”**

Bowing his head in thought, Minato mused, “Hypothetically speaking… If I shared my memories with you… Could you help me find my son?” 

**“What? Are you a fool? You would hand the memories of the seal over to its prisoner?”**

“No, not at all.” Minato calmly stated, “The seal requires a key that I have given to a summon you cannot access. The seal I have placed my trust in, and the key cannot be used from inside the seal.” 

**“THEN WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU, SELFISH HUMAN? THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS YOUR FAULT. WHY SHOULD I EVEN CONSIDER HELPING MY JAILOR? WHAT DOES IS MATTER TO ME IF THE ONE JAILING ME CHANGES? I WILL STILL BE CONTAINED HERE, AFTER ALL!”**

“Because if what you think happened to Naruto is true, then I can return your Yin half to you.” 

The Kyuubi paused; being half a creature was a very uncomfortable experience  **“And how would you accomplish this feat of which you speak?”** **  
  
**

“There is a way that someone can release what is trapped in the Shinigami’s stomach through a ritual, but I am unsure of what requirements there are to perform it.” 

**“I see….”** the Kyuubi scratched his chin musing. **_‘It would be much easier trying to escape if I had my Yin half… and it doesn’t really matter if my jailor changes...._** **’**

**“Human. I will assist you in returning my Yin half. I will not help you with other matters. Now. Show me your memories.”**

“Ah sorry. How do I do that?”

**“...Just lift up the corner of the seal… The natural deterioration of the seal would have leaked your memories over to me so we just need to speed it up a bit.”**

“Oh. So that’s how the memory leakage works, I see. How much of the seal do I need to remove?”    
  


**“Preferably all of it.”** **  
** **  
** Minato stared blankly at the Kyuubi for a bit.    
  
**“Fine. Just about as much as your fingernail.”** **  
** **  
** “Understood.”    
  
Minato closed his eyes and imagined himself rising to the level of the seal that was high above him **.** Opening his eyes again, he was right in front of the seal. He picked at the corner of the paper, carefully tearing just enough of it away.

**“Good. Now leave me be. We will discuss this at a later time after I have finished sorting through your filthy human memories.”** **  
** **  
** “Haha, well you don’t have to put it like that, but okay. I’ll leave you to it Kyuubi. Thank you very much for your assistance.”    
  


**“Just get out already.”**

  
“I’m leaving, I’m leaving.” 


	3. Growing Days

**Chapter 3 Growing Days**

Growing up in an orphanage for a second time, Minato’s life was once again defined by the word solitude. The first time around, he had only ever been another faceless figure in a crowd of others, but this time he was singled out and made a pariah.

Minato knew that in order to successfully pull off an act as a child he could not display habits of his past life. All attention was on him he had quickly realized. His every action was scrutinized, and critics were everywhere, judging his every step for demonic attributes. Developing a list of habits to train himself out of was a must. He couldn’t have too many distinctive tics that corresponded with a deadman.

Other children in the orphanage were discouraged from playing with the small whiskered child, and Minato was often told to sit in a corner quietly. Whenever food was served the caretakers made sure that Naruto was served last and given as little food as possible. All the dirtiest and hardest chores around the orphanage were assigned to him. Generally it was a terrible experience. Though he was never beaten since there was a regular ANBU patrol that he could feel pass by every once in a while, he was just neglected as much as possible. 

Somehow Minato made it work. As soon as he could walk Minato took the opportunity to potty train himself; the matron took the opportunity to neglect the child further. None of the neglect bothered Minato, who was an adult in a child’s body, but it did disturb him greatly when he considered what could have happened to his son. Thus, Minato took care of himself as best he could in place of his son. He made sure that he was clean and brushed his teeth regularly even though no one taught him how to do these things. He would also get up at night and raid the kitchen for extra food to make sure he was properly fed. 

It was when other children were starting to learn how to read and write that Minato truly started to get angry at his situation. During the times that caretakers would read to the children, Naruto was forced out into the backyard to wander on his own. Of course, this wasn’t really a problem for Minato since he already knew how to read and write, but the treatment infuriated and saddened him. Minato knew the importance of having someone to blame after a disaster, but he didn’t wish the role upon anyone. Especially not his own son. 

Months slowly passed like this, and then years went by. Konoha slowly recovered from the devastation left behind by the Kyuubi. Minato missed his own funeral and the mass funeral that followed, but the following years where the day of mourning had become replaced by a festival of remembrance saw Minato sitting isolated in his room staring forlornly out the window. His birthday had become a festival that all were welcomed to except for him. The caretakers at the orphanage made sure that he was as miserable as possible on that day. 

  
  
  


Minato’s first experience shopping as himself went a little something like this: boy walks into a store. Boy buys items. Boy walks out of the store. Minato’s first experience shopping for himself as Naruto went something like this: 

It was a hot day, and Minato was sent out of the orphanage for the first time as an errand boy for some groceries. 

A friendly looking woman greeted him as he walked into the small corner shop.

“Hi welcome to- What are you doing here you filthy demon?!?” Instantly that friendly looking face was contorted into an ugly looking grimace. 

“Ah… I-I just wanted to buy a few groceries…” Minato hesitantly replied.

“Get out of my shop, demon scum! I refuse to serve the likes of you here!” She roared in response, picking up a broom and brandishing it violently in his direction. 

Not wanting to cause a further scene, Minato hightailed it out of the store, followed by a few thrown vegetables. 

_ ‘A demon? Is the general opinion of Jinchuurikis really that low? How do so many people know who the Jinchuuriki is anyway? _

Minato had encountered a few glares along the way to the store, but he had assumed that it was due to his appearance as an impoverished child. 

‘ _ If I return without the groceries, things might escalate in a bad direction. I'll have to try a different store I guess…” _

Minato trotted off in the opposite direction of the store he’d just fled, hoping that the other stalls wouldn’t know of his status. 

It was not to be. Now that he was paying attention, the stares that he received while walking were entirely hostile in nature. His sensing abilities which he hadn’t been using before were now active, detecting high levels of resentment, anger, and fear. He could hear people whispering to each other nastily as he passed by.

“Did you see those whiskers? They say he’s the demon reborn!” 

“Shhh! Be careful with what you say!”

“That boy! That’s the one that the Yondaime trapped the demon in!”

“Those marks! It’s him! The weakened demon!” 

“So it's true! The demon is a child now!”

“Honey, you see that child? Remember his face. Don’t go near him; he’s very dangerous.” 

Minato wanted to hang his head in shame. To see the people of his beloved Konoha acting in such a manner brought him a nameless grief. The Konoha he knew and loved was filled with people who always had a smile ready for any outsider, yet now it was a village filled with pain and hate. 

By the time Minato arrived at the next closest grocery store, his self confidence had dropped. He could only hope that things would get better with time. This time he was able to enter the store without problems and find all the things he needed to buy. It was only when he arrived at the counter to pay for his items that the cashier started giving him a very nasty look. 

“1250 Ryo please.” 

“What? But that’s twice the price that’s listed!” 

“1250 Ryo or get out.” 

“But!”

“1250 Ryo or out, boy.” 

Minato huffed in frustration; he dug out his money and paid with his own meager savings when the allowance the matron gave him didn’t cover the costs. By this point Minato had dealt with more than enough, except the world wasn’t quite done with him yet. As he was walking back to the orphanage, contemplating how best to hide the whisker marks on his cheeks, he was suddenly bumped roughly off his feet by a civilian walking by, spilling his groceries all over the road. He quickly turned, hoping to catch the person who did it, but whoever they were, they were long gone. Minato was just barely holding onto his rage and sadness at the point; he angrily picked up his dirty vegetables and hurried the rest of the way to the orphanage. 

Kurama was confused. Minato was the most confusing human he’d ever met. Not that he’d met many, mind you, but his previous containers had been pretty eccentric. Minato was just on a whole other level. First the human treats him politely and with respect, then he willingly negotiates with him, he willingly degrades the seal holding Kurama’s massive power away, and then he lets Kurama rummage through his memories? Madness. Sheer human stupidity? And yet in Minato’s memories he is often called a genius? The fine line between genius and insanity? 

Kurama was confused. He had seen such dark depths of humanity from Minato’s memories that he could barely understand why Minato would sacrifice himself for Konoha. It was shocking how much blood Minato had spilled, even more shocking still how many he had saved. Minato seemed like the ultimate paradox. The savior and yet the demon. Kurama couldn’t understand how Minato came out of the Third Shinobi War with hope for humanity even after slaughtering one thousand Iwa Shinobi like pigs. The trauma he encountered while trawling Minato’s memories was no joke at all. Some of it made Kurama want to hurl his chakra-based guts out. 

Still, Kurama wondered. Could this vessel be the one that the sage spoke of? Minato valued family; his entire life was based around searching for and protecting a family. Kurama hadn't understood Minato’s loneliness and need for a family, after all he had been created with siblings who were always connected no matter what. It was only until Hashirama started sealing away the Biju that he understood what loneliness was truly like. So Kurama could respect Minato for dealing with the hand that life had dealt him. 

It was interesting seeing his previous vessel from another point of view. He still found her obnoxious and too aggressive but Kurama could admit that Kushina could grow on you like a weed. 

“ **Hey, Human.”**

‘ _ What the- Kyuubi?’  _ Minato thought in surprise. The Kyuubi’s voice had just come out of nowhere, startling him from his contemplations. He had returned to the orphanage, received a scolding for the dirty produce, and been sent to his room with no dinner. He’d begun to brood, mulling over past mistakes wondering where it all went wrong. 

**“Yes it is me Human. Get down here. We will discuss the seal situation.”**

**_‘_ ** _ Fascinating! I didn’t know that the Jinchuuriki could communicate with the Biju like this! Did you ever do this with Kushina?’  _

“ **Just get down here already.”**

Minato frowned at the non-response but shrugged, letting his eyes fall shut, crossing his legs, and dropping into a meditative state. Opening his eyes to a familiar dank sewer. 

“ **Before you ask. No. I did not find your son in the seal; I do not know about the rest of your mindscape just yet.”**

Minato deflated a bit. “I see.. thank you very much for your efforts Kyuubi-sama.” He perked up again, “The rest of my mindscape, huh? Mind waiting a while Kyuubi-sama? I’ll be right back.” Minato flashed away to the rest of his mind in a hurry, leaving the Kyuubi with no chance to respond. 

The Kyuubi was left to think in silence as Minato’s hurried footsteps echoed through the dark away from him.  **_‘Should I…? No, If he knows then I will be left without my other half. Who knows, it may work yet…”_ **

****

Left thinking, Kurama could admit that he respected the man who had sealed him. Minato had displayed many admirable qualities and was a paragon of what a Shinobi should be. He had sacrificed his own happiness for the sake of a perceived greater good, and now he was continuing through life with little resentment. 

“Hey Kyuubi-sama? I couldn’t find Naruto either…” said Minato, interrupting the Kyuubi’s musings. “I found an area where I could revisit my memories, which was helpful, but no manifestation of my son was anywhere to be found.” 

**“I see. Then we must rely on your knowledge of how to remove something from the Shinigami’s stomach.”**

“I suppose so,” Minato said solemnly, “I will need time to prepare for the Shinigami ritual, perhaps several years. My body isn’t old enough to gain access to the information that I need to perform the ritual.” 

**“You are a Shinobi are you not? What is to stop you from sneaking in?”**

“I will need to train to avoid detection, this body is not ready for any Shinobi skills aside from sensing. Speaking of which...” Minato paused in thought, “Are you the one I should be thanking for my new sensing capabilities?” 

“ **Of what do you speak, human?”**

“I mean that recently I’ve been able to sense the emotions of people surrounding me. I was never able to do such a thing in my past life.”

**“Humph. I am the Great Kyuubi no Yoko; such a thing is well within my capabilities!”**

“I see. Well then, thank you very much, it has been very useful so far.” 

**“Hmph. As if I need your thanks.”**

_ ‘He’s a bit of a tsundere, isn’t he?’  _ was Minato’s amusing revelation. 

“Thank you either way, Kyuubi-sama. I will be leaving now, is there anything else you needed?” 

**“Just leave.”**

“Alright then, thank you very much for your assistance.” 

Opening his eyes again, Minato was filled with a renewed sense of hope over his situation. He would train his skills and then return his son's body to its rightful owner. Hopefully there wouldn’t have been too many consequences for his son. 

Minato resorted to stealing from the matron’s office at night to procure supplies for sealing. He spent long hours working on his calligraphy skills, honing his handwriting and muscle memory so that he could regain his skill with Fūinjutsu. He wished he had access to his rightful inheritance, as it would have been priceless at that point to have his old notes. That way, he could study what went wrong with the sealing process. In fact, he wished that any of his friends could have taken him in. It could only have been much better than his current situation. 

He wished he could remain up to date on the news regarding Konoha’s Shinobi forces, but as a child it was extremely difficult to acquire any accurate rumors of the going ons in a Shinobi village. Aside from actively staking out the Jounin lounge, there wasn’t very much that Minato could do to stay updated. He’d heard rumors of a conflict between Kumo and Konoha over an ambassador, but he was never sure of the full details behind the situation. It caused Minato no end of grief to be so thoroughly out of the loop when previously he’d been informed on every little matter that occurred in the village. 

  
  
  


On Naruto’s/Minato’s fifth/29th birthday, he was promptly evicted from the orphanage.    
  
The Matron had taken him by the arm, roughly dragging him out of his dingy room, and tossed him on the street roaring, 

“You’re old enough now brat! You can live on your own now! Never come back!” 

Minato took this new development rather well. He didn’t throw a tantrum, nor did he break down crying in the middle of the street like any other child might have. Instead, he approached the situation with a cold, calculated mindset. 

Being thrown out of the orphanage brought several key problems that he could solve simply due to his experience. He would need shelter, which he could find in the forest surrounding the village, and food, which he could hunt or grow. 

This development would allow for greater freedoms in regards to his training. He could easily survive on his own with his extensive survival training from another lifetime.    
  


And thus Minato’s second life as a street rat/forest hermit began. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


He carefully suppressed his chakra to sneak past the lazy Nara chunnins. 

Suppressing chakra was like turning your chakra into a flat blanket and then tightly rolling it up into a ball. It worked as both a meditation method and chakra control exercise. Though the true trick to suppressing chakra and hiding your signature was to change your inner chakra element to resonate with nature or whatever element was most abundant in an area.This made sages much more adept at hiding, since they could completely resonate with nature and remove all signs of human presence. 

It wasn’t all bad, mainly because of his prior experience acting as a buffer. Minato took full advantage of the signature laziness of the Nara clan and eked out a living in one of the caves in their compound forest. Sneaking past Nara clansmen everyday was not very hard but still helped Minato polish his stealth skills that he’d let decline after the development of his signature Hiraishin. 

The cave that he discovered was roughly the size of a small house, with a small brook running past it. Minato took it upon himself to turn it into his secret base, and proceeded to plaster the interior and the surrounding clearing with various security seals. With his new base complete, Minato was free to train to his heart's content. 

  
  


After exhausting himself thoroughly with various exercises and stretches to keep his childhood flexibility, Minato decided to train Jutsus next. He would slowly work his way up from the academy trio to his old beloved Hiraishin. 

Running through the hand seals for the basic henge technique multiple times, Minato trained his seal speed and finger dexterity. He ran the Jutsu signs without chakra until his fingers felt warmed up but just as he was actually about to perform the technique a leaf floated by, brushing his nose and causing him to sneeze. 

“ACHOO!” 

\- Poof- a cloud of smoke erupted from his body revealing his original body, complete with Jounin vest and Kage cloak.

‘ _ Well damn, I’m just glad I didn’t blow up by accident… that would have been an embarrassing way to go… Young boy discovered dead in the forest after overloading the henge… Perhaps this is why it’s an academy Jutsu… Oh well might as well make the best of it.’  _

Deciding to return to his cave while practicing his chakra control by maintaining the henge; he walked face first into a branch he would have easily walked under with his Naruto height. 

_ ‘Wait, what?’  _ He thought holding his painfully throbbing nose ‘ _ Overloading a henge with chakra produces a solid transformation? Solid transformations are any infiltrators wet dream, and I’ve just discovered it by accident?!? Why has no one else discovered this? Or is it that my chakra density has changed due to being a Jinchuuriki? Or is the chakra requirement just too high for normal ninjas?’ _

Testing his old body and running through his old katas felt like a dream. It was amazing having his old body and strength back, and it was almost too good to be true. After testing the technique several times by overloading the Jutsu on purpose with the same amount of chakra as the first accidental transformation, Minato had a flash of inspiration. 

Combining the henge with shadow clones and the shadow clone kunai Jutsu would be devastating. Now that he had the reserves to pull off more than ten shadow clones, he would be an absolute monster to face with solid transformations into kunai or shuriken. 

Unfortunately, he came to a separate realization along with his elation at increased combat potential. He could hypothetically return to the village and live under a henge. Except… Explaining how he was back from the dead was definitely a long shot, and did he really want to return to the Hokage position? Did Konoha really deserve him as Hokage again? But if he was Hokage he could change what he had seen. His one year in office hadn’t been enough time to really solve any of Konoha’s problems, there were many issues he had wanted to tackle but his term had ended before he could even touch them. 

  
  
  
  
  


“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T FIND HIM?” the Hokage shouted, slamming his hands on his desk. “How long has it been since he went missing?!”

“H-Hokage-sama, it's been five m-months we checked the orphanage and everywhere in the surrounding area,” said the trembling ANBU agent. “We can’t find him, but villagers report seeing him every once in a while on the outskirts of the village …” 

The Hokage leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead incredulously. “My most highly trained ANBU can’t even locate a five year old child? Why was I not told sooner?”    
  
“Hokage-sama, we have tried tailing him, but he slips our senses no matter what we do. We suspect he’s a natural born sensor. Danzo-sama said he would take care of it as well.” 

“Danzo? He never told me a thing! And perhaps we need to overhaul the ANBU training programs if even a five year old child is able to shake off our ANBU,” he bit out harshly. The Sandaime sighed and stood, ignoring the shivers of fear coming from the ANBU hidden in the room, “I shall go to him myself. Dismissed.” 

  
“Hai!” 

  
Minato waited with thinly veiled patience for the fish to finish cooking. His stomach was absolutely roaring in hunger. Biting into the crispy flesh of his roasted fish, he huffed as the meat burned his tongue a bit. Minato started as he realized there was suddenly a figure sitting across from him in front of his small fire, sniffing carefully at his fish.    
  
Several emotions quickly ripped through him, only just barely hidden by his shock at being snuck up on.    
  


It was the Sandaime himself. The Sandaime was not dressed in his usual hokage robes, but a regular brown haori that had the kanji for fire stitched on the back, a beige scarf, and plain tan shirt and pants.    
  
Minato’s thoughts flashed quickly; indignant anger at his treatment and the old fondness he held for the man battled it out in his mind. 

“W-who are you?” He asked swiftly to hide the fact he recognized the old man.    
  
“Just an old man passing through,” was the kind response.    
  
Minato stared in confusion at the man as his mind raced to figure out what the game here was. Until a strange sound rippled across the clearing.    
  
~Growl~    
  
The young boy burst out in laughter with the old man at the sound. He decided to see what the Hokage wanted, offering the old man one of his grilled fish. 

“Here, Gramps, eat this.”    
  
“Oh, thank you,” said the old man, taking the fish in hand. 

The duo ate in peace for a while. Minato did his best to figure out exactly what the old man’s ploy was while crunching noisily on his grilled fish. It had been five years, and this was the first time the man had appeared before him in person.

Knowing the old man, he probably kept track of Naruto through his crystal ball but got worried after Minato started training in his warded training area and thus could no longer find him. 

Closely examining the wizened figure in front of him, Minato noted the Hokage’s tightly controlled, disciplined chakra and the lack of any obvious tells as to what the man was feeling.    
  


Suddenly the Sandaime spoke, looking up at the darkened, star-filled sky, “Look at all those stars. Each one of those stars is like our world’s sun. Yes, this world is boundless.”   
  


Remembering similar introspective talks with his wise predecessor, Minato played along. “Ehhh? You sure know a lot, old man!”   
  


Spreading his arms out and drawing them back in, the old man said, “Compared to the vastness of the world, man's existence is very insignificant!” 

Both men paused in eating for a bit to appreciate the beauty of the night sky splayed above them. The deep moment was ruined by another stomach growl, and the two burst out laughing together. Only calming down after much of the tension had drained out of Minato's shoulders.

“So, my boy, what are you doing out here all on your own?”

And the tension was back full force, not that Sarutobi noticed.

“Eating!” Was the glib response. 

“Hahaha! I see! Where are your parents? Are you sure you should be out so late on your own?” 

Rage surged through Minato’s body at the act that was being put on in front of him, but he didn’t let any of his emotions show in his body or chakra. It was time to guilt trip the Sandaime into next week. 

He looked down despondently and let his eyes fill up with tears before bouncing back up ‘cheerfully.’ “I haven’t got any! I’ve always been on my own, old man!” He chirped. 

The old man coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“...I see… Still, it’s not very safe out here isn’t it? Why aren’t you at the orphanage, my boy?”   
  


At this question Minato let a few tears slip out before roughly scrubbing them away. 

“They kicked me out a while ago! But it's okay! I’m fine on my own!” 

“Child...”   
  
“My name’s Uzumaki Naruto!”   
  
“Ah… It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen.”   
  
“I think that “old man” is a better name for you!”   
  
“Hahahaha! Very well then, old man it is!” 

“So what do you need, old man?”

“How long have you been living on your own out here my child?” 

“Hmm… Five months!”

“I see… it’s very impressive that you’ve managed so well on your own. Say my boy, what if I could give you a place to live?”

“Ehhhhh? You can do that? But I can’t give you anything in return!”

“No, no… you wouldn’t need to worry about that. Orphans get a stipend that they can depend on…”   
  
“What's a stipend? “   
  
“Ah. It's a certain amount of money given to those who can’t work just yet.”    
  


“Oh. Okay!”    
  
“Now come with me for a while, my child. I’ll get you set up.”    
  
“Sure! But I wanna finish my fish first!” 

“Ahahah! Of course, my child.” 

Minato’s affairs were quickly sorted out at the Hokage tower. He was offered a new place to live, complete with amenities and various other daily necessities like clothes. It was interesting that the old building offered to him was one he had lived in during his poor Genin days. He wondered if the Sandaime knew what he was doing in offering him this apartment or if it was just a sick coincidence. He (not so) fondly remembered moldy walls and a dripping roof when he was living here. He doubted it had improved much during his time away.

Moving into his new apartment was a strange experience; there was a bit of deja vu from seeing the same building but having a different room. It was comforting in a strange way to have something familiar when everything was so different. 


	4. Training Days

**Chapter 4 Training Days**   


Leaving his new/old apartment, Minato decided to visit an old training ground that was nearby. He had frequently visited the small enclosed training ground #41 as a Genin with Kushina, and there were many precious memories associated with the small forest clearing.    
  
  


_ The day was bright and cheerful at training ground 41, birds were chirping happily and the small brook babbled peacefully. Minato used the peace to meditate, immersing himself in the sounds of nature. He felt a surge of joy when he sensed a certain familiar presence pop up near his location.  _

_ “Minato!” A cheerful voice called out, disturbing the tranquility of the training ground. _

_ “Kushina!” He jumped to his feet excitedly, running over to the red-headed Chuunin.  _

_ She hugged him. “So what’s this I heard about a Jounin promotion, huh? Congratulations dattebane!” she said.  _

_ “Haha, thanks!” Minato scratched his head sheepishly as Kushina hung off him like a koala. “Oh, I had something I wanted to ask you!” He said, tucking his hands in his pockets to hide his nervous twitching. _

_ “Huh? Well what is it then?” Kushina asked, tilting her head to the side.  _

_ Blushing with nerves overtaking him he managed to stutter out a question, “Uh w-well that is... Um… W-will you… would you... go out with me?”  _

_ “Eh?” Kushina blanked. Letting go of Minato in her confusion.  _

_ “ Ah… um that is… I would l-like to take you out on a date?” Minato crossed his fingers hopefully.  _

_ “Of course dattebane!” Kushina cried, launching herself at him with a big crushing hug, sending him crashing to the ground in a heap. “What took you so long? You silly!” _

_ Minato let out a relieved laugh and hugged her back enthusiastically.  _

_ “Let’s go get some ramen, ne?”  _

“Hey! What’s a kid doing here?” A smooth voice questioned.

Minato whipped around; he had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed the faint chakra signature of the new speaker.

The new arrival appeared to be a freshly-minted Chuunin with short black curly hair, long girly eyelashes, and coal dark eyes. He was also wearing the standard navy Uchiha shirt and tan shorts with the customary fan crest stitched on the back of the shirt. 

“Uh! Nothing!” Minato squeaked, still slightly out of it. 

The stranger tilted his head to the side and smirked, “Sure, kid. What are you doing here? Don’t you know training grounds are off limits for civilians?”   
  


“I was just exploring! I’m gonna be a Shinobi too!”

“Hoh… A little pipsqueak like you wants to be a Shinobi too, huh? Don’t you know that Shinobi follow rules?”

“Ah, but even the best Shinobi know that some rules are made to be broken, at times.”

“Hahaha! I like you, kid! I’m Uchiha Shisui! What’s your name?”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto! It’s nice to meet you Shisui-San.”

“Oh ho, respectful little brat aren’t you? Since you’re here, might as well make the most of it and spar with me hmm?” 

“Spar? With you? Are you sure?” 

“Sure, pipsqueak, lets see what you’ve got!” 

“Alright! But you better take me seriously!” 

“Haha! We’ll see!” With those words Shisui settled into the basic Uchiha Interceptor stance. Minato himself decided to settle for the basic academy stance even though he knew of many other taijutsu styles. 

“Taijutsu only?” Minato asked. 

“Of course, pipsqueak!” 

“I’m going to make you take that name back you know?” 

“Bring it. Pipsqueak.” 

And so Minato brought it. Making the seal of confrontation, which Shisui returned, he then rushed Shisui in a burst of speed. Minato threw a quick jab to Shisui’s chest. The jab was simply sidestepped and Shisui retaliated with a leg sweep. Minato jumped over the sweep while Shisui capitalized on the fact that he couldn’t dodge with a spinning back hand. Minato narrowly blocked the blow but was sent flying towards a tree. Flipping around mid air and pushing off the tree, Minato rushed at Shisui with a flying kick. Shisui dodged again, letting Minato fly by and taking the opportunity to aim a jab towards Minato’s ribs. Minato took the hit intentionally, remaining cautious in showing what he could do.

Both fighters had similar thoughts racing through their minds 

_ ‘He’s fast! Really fast!’  _ Minato sprung up again and snapped his right leg out in a high kick aimed for Shisui’s face. Shisui caught Minato’s leg and threw him to the side using his superior strength. 

_ ‘Strong! It seems I can take this a little seriously.’  _ Minato thought. 

Picking himself up off the ground, Minato was determined to at least get rid of the annoying nickname. He sent a flurry of blows towards Shisui, increasing his speed subtly as he went. Shisui narrowly dodged around each punch, sweat dripping. 

‘ _ Did this kid just get even faster? Looks like I have to up my game! He might just give me a workout!’  _ Shisui let himself be pressed backwards until his back hit a tree. 

Minato saw this and struck out with his left leg in a roundhouse kick ‘ _ Chance!’  _

Shisui ducked beneath Minato’s leg, under his guard, and lashed out at Minato’s supporting leg, sending Minato tumbling to the ground again. 

“You’re not taking this seriously, are you?” Shisui asked incredulously. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, you can obviously go much faster right?” 

“Hmm… Well maybe…” 

“Gotcha, I’ll just have to force you to show me then.” 

For the first time in the spar, Shisui rushed at Minato with a blazing fast punch, Minato swiftly ducking into Shisui’s guard with a sharp jab to his gut and darting away. 

“Oof! Now that’s what I’m talking about, pipsqueak!” 

Minato grinned. “I’m gonna make you regret that.” 

“Oh? How so?” 

Shisui shot forwards again with a wide sweep of his arm, only to yelp when Minato darted to the side and punched him in the kidney. Minato gave Shisui a bit of time to recover before going at him again with a high kick. Shisui saw the kick coming and blocked it, launching himself into a tackle at Minato. The two wrestled on the ground for a bit before Shisui rolled over Minato with his greater build and sat on top of him. 

“Hah! Gotcha, Pipsqueak!”

“Damn it! That’s not fair, maybe you’re just fat!” 

“Oi oi that's kinda rude, dontcha know? I’ll have you know I’m not fat!” 

“Yeah yeah, get off of me, you’re heavy.” 

Slowly crawling off of Minato and dusting himself off, Shisui remarked, “Say, pipsqueak, that wasn’t a bad spar, where’d you learn the academy style? Someone teaching you?” 

Minato sat up and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Nah, I watched some students practicing and copied them,” he said truthfully. 

“Woah, really? You learned Taijutsu by copying what you saw? No teachers?” Shisui didn’t bother to hide his gaping. 

“Haha, yeah….” 

“Damn, pipsqueak, imagine what you could do with a teacher! That’s it! I've decided! I’ll teach you.” 

“Eh. Is that really alright? Won’t you be busy with missions?”

“Don’t worry about it, shorty! I've got this!” Shisui replied.

“Well if you say so…” Minato said. “And I’m not that short!”

“Compared to me you are, hahaha!” 

“That’s not a fair comparison!” Pouted Minato, puffing his cheeks 

“It is to me!” Came the cheeky response as Shisui jokingly poked Minato’s puffy cheeks. 

Batting Shisui’s hands away, Minato huffed and turned away in thought. Training with Shisui would be a good cover for any Shinobi skills he might show off as Naruto; it would give him an excuse to use the henge without suspicion at the very least. Making up his mind, Minato turned back to Shisui with a wide smile on his face.

“You know what? Sure, I’ll train with you! But you better be able to keep up!” 

“Hey! I should be saying that to you!” Shisui said. 

“Blehhhh” A childish impulse took over Minato, making him stick out his tongue in retaliation. 

“You brat! What happened to the respect from earlier? Get over here!” Shisui laughed as he promptly leapt up, chasing after Naruto, who yelped and scrambled away, laughing as he went. 

Minato couldn’t remember the last time he felt so light hearted as the chase quickly devolved into a game of ninja tag. He cackled as he tripped Shisui, who had lunged for him, into a tumbling heap. 

“Oh that's it! I’m gonna get you now!” Shisui jumped to his feet with a determined gleam in his eyes. 

Minato’s eyes narrowed. “Catch me if you can!” He yelled, sticking out his tongue for the second time. And so the chase was on. The game encompassed the entire training grounds, Minato leading Shisui on a wild goose chase all over the place. Several times Minato had led Shisui into a few old and abandoned traps just for giggles, while Shisui dodged around projectiles and pitfalls he cursed Naruto under his breath, leading to even more giggles from the child.

When Shisui had finally had enough of entertaining the little blond devil, he used the most flawless Shunshin Jutsu that Minato had ever seen, placing himself in front of Naruto. Who then promptly crashed into Shisui sending both boys tumbling to the ground for the nth time that day. 

“Hey! No fair you cheated!” Minato shouted in jest. 

“Ninjas don't cheat. They win,” Shisui smugly replied, “You’re one slippery kid, you know that?” 

Minato laughed, slippery was rather tame for one called ‘The Yellow Flash’. “Haha, I do my best!” Minato dusted himself off before he considered what he had seen. “Say, that was the Shunshin jutsu, right?” 

“Huh? Oh yeah! It’s my specialty! They’ll be calling me Shunshin no Shisui in no time!” Shisui crowed. 

“Hahaha, I’d like to see that! Can you teach me?” 

“Of course little pipsqueak! You’re my student and it's my signature technique after all!” 

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah! I'll be as fast as the Yellow Flash one day! You’ll see!”

“Cooooool!” And it was cool. From what Minato could tell, Shisui had spent countless hours perfecting the jutsu and was capable of using it in high speed combat. Most Shinobi were unable to do so as the Shunshin would leave a distinctive chakra marker at the destination just before the Shinobi performed the jutsu, making it easily countered. Shisui was fast enough that the marker was basically nonexistent, which was why Minato had crashed into him when he used it so suddenly.

It was amazing that this young Chuunin already had a technique that would put him on the same levels of speed as the Hiraishin. Minato’s own Shunshin had been just a step away from Shisui’s, which had prompted him to create the Hiraishin, as he was dissatisfied with the speed of his own Shunshin. Minato fondly remembered crashing into various objects while trying to perfect his own Shunshin. Shisui must have suffered equal amounts of pain to achieve such a polished Shunshin. 

After making further plans with Shisui and waving his goodbyes, Minato returned to his apartment under a sneaky henge to hide his whisker marks. He detachedly observed the stark difference in treatment he received from the civilians. It was like the whiskers painted a sign that said “Please glare here!”, and now that they were gone he was just another regular dirty kid returning home after playing too much. Except the problem was that Minato didn’t want to live life under a henge. He wanted his son to be proud of who and what he was without fear of vengeance. Only time could tell if things would ever change, Minato mused. 

  
  
  


Sarutobi Hiruzen was a tired man. He had served Konoha faithfully for many years, surviving the Second and Third Shinobi wars. Just when he thought he could retire in peace, his successor had to go pull the ultimate heroic act and sacrifice himself for Konoha. Hiruzen reminisced sadly, Minato was a brilliant young man whose time hadn’t even really begun yet; it was a true pity that the Kyuubi incident had happened. 

Hiruzen regretted not taking care of Naruto more in the place of Minato, but the boy seemed to be doing okay. He had survived on his own for five months for heaven's sake! Talk about resourceful! Hiruzen really should have kept a closer eye on that orphanage rather than just checking in on Naruto with his crystal ball every once in a while.

Speaking of which, the whole orphanage debacle was giving him a headache; he couldn’t tell what Danzo’s intentions were towards Naruto. Perhaps the old fool had thought to make Naruto desperate for help and then lend a helping hand, making the boy indebted to him? Hiruzen was simply thankful that he had decided to ask the ANBU about the young boy that day. He needed to establish that his ANBU reported to him and only him now. Ahhh, so much work to do on top of all his ever blasted paperwork. Hiruzen sighed. 

At the very least, Minato’s son seemed to be happy. A few days ago, Hiruzen had visited the young boy at his apartment with an offer of dinner. The boy had seemed cheerful enough despite the animosity that Hiruzen could see he faced. It saddened Hiruzen that he could not make Naruto the hero his father had wanted him to be without endangering the boy. He’d done his best to keep rumors of the Jinchuuriki quiet, but it was not to be. The information leak still hadn’t been discovered even after two years of investigations. He sighed again. 

The boy was much like his father in both appearance and calculating moves. During the encounter at the river, Hiruzen observed many times where the boy had subtly hidden some sort of reaction whenever Hiruzen spoke. There was a cool calculating mind behind the sunny smiles that the child offered him. There had to be with the way he had skillfully caught the fish and prepared them.

Honestly Naruto reminded him so much of both Kushina and Minato that it wasn’t even funny. The first time that Hiruzen saw Naruto smile he felt a lump well up in his throat at the ghost of a red headed woman that he saw superimpose itself over her son. Hiruzen was simply grateful the boy was so canny and that he hadn’t died out on the streets before Hiruzen could do anything about him. Reconstruction efforts had taken up too much of his time and left no time to worry about Konoha’s newest Jinchuuriki. 

  
  
  


Minato finished his new resistance seals with a flourish. He had trained his muscle memory enough to finally hold a brush without his hands shaking and was able to draw seals again. The repetitive calligraphy practice without shadow clones had been mind numbing but sadly necessary. 

Another interesting thing he’d discovered about Naruto’s body was the nearly endless reserves of energy that seemed to almost overflow from him. Minato had a hard time concentrating on sealing when all he wanted to do was bounce his leg around wildly. For Minato, applying his old combination of resistance seals for training felt like a step back into his old body. Another bit of familiarity when nothing seemed to be going right for him. 

Minato still didn’t know how to feel about inhabiting his sons body, but so far it had been an interesting experience. On his worst days he would feel like a disgusting body snatcher who sacrificed his son for another life. The self berating was incomparable to his worst critics, as he outstripped them in harshness by far. On his better days he simply existed and enjoyed the experience of being alive without the pains he’d accumulated from the third war. 

Reminded of his situation, Minato sank into another bout of depression, spiraling deeper and deeper into negative thoughts. 

_ ‘Oh dear god was I truly wrong to seal the Kyuubi in my child? Was I just running away from my responsibilities as a father? No, no, I can't think like that, who knows when the masked man will be back for the fox. Or even the ‘Akatsuki’ as a matter of fact! The fox would have reformed if I had sealed it into Kushina and I wouldn't have been able to seal so much chakra into Naruto without the Shiki Fuin. And who knows what. If—‘  _

Suddenly his depression was interrupted by a low growling coming from the back of his mind. 

**“Human. When are you going to return my Yin half to me?”**

**“** Huh? Oh, Kyuubi-sama,” Minato paused in his brooding and closed his eyes, entering into his mindscape. He could see that the brooding had done no good to the state of his mindscape. The old sewer’s waters had become murky and dark, there were more cracks along the walls, and mold had started to grow from the corners. The water level had encroached on the Kyuubi’s cage and was slowly rising. Minato eyed the Kyuubi nervously, glancing between the water and the giant fox several times. 

“I’m sorry, I've been busy. I haven’t been able to gain access to the Shinobi library just yet. Please give me a little more time”

“ **Why is this taking so long? I saw the Henge; you should be able to simply walk in and research.”**

“Yes. That is the plan… except… No, you are correct. I should do as you say, I will visit the Shinobi library tomorrow.” 

“ **Good. Hurry it up.”**

“Hai, Hai.” Minato aquiceised, “Oh and Kyuubi-sama?” 

“ **Hmph, what?”**

“Thank you” 

The Kyuubi huffed and turned around, pointedly ignoring Minato’s smile and simply shooing him away again with a wave of his tails. 

  
  
  
  


The next day, Minato set out from his apartment with a renewed purpose. He had thoroughly planned out what he needed to do as well as what exactly he needed to research. Minato entered an abandoned alleyway and formed a shadow clone. He was thankful that shadow clones didn’t need much chakra control, as he wouldn’t even have been able to manage a single normal clone with his growing chakra levels. 

Sending the clone off to do some menial chores, Minato himself henged into a generic Nara Jounin, complete with olive skin, spiky hair, and clan symbol. Minato left the alley way from the rooftops, roof hopping like he’d done all his life towards the Shinobi archives. He stumbled a few times, mildly unused to the height of his henge, before really getting into the swing of things. 

He observed the library from a distance, casting his senses out to probe the entire building, ensuring there were no actual members of the Nara clan inside. It wouldn’t do for him to be caught so easily, after all. 

Once Minato had made sure that the coast was clear, he hopped off the roofs and set towards the library at a casual lope. Entering the archives he was greeted by the Chuunin running the desk. 

“Ah, hello Nara-san. Can I help you with anything today?” 

“Hello. I’m fine. Thank you very much.” 

“Very well. If you need any help looking for something, I’ll be here.” 

“Ah, thanks.” 

Minato casually slouched towards the Jounin-restricted section of the archive, knowing it wouldn’t be out of the norm for Nara clansmen to be seen in there researching. He was glad that his transformation Jutsu was solid now, as the desk Chuunin were often trained to detect the illusory henge that regular Shinobi often used. Minato quickly made a beeline towards the records salvaged from Uzushio, preparing genjutsu and silencing seals in his pockets as he went. He set up in a small reading nook and prepped the area with his basic privacy seals so that others would overlook his presence. 

Paying undivided attention to old and musty scrolls was duller than he remembered it to be. Minato couldn’t concentrate properly on the words, and it was a frustrating experience. The scrolls he was investigating were long and dull but he persevered out of necessity. 

‘ _ I'm doing this for my son! I can't be this easily bored!’  _ he reminded himself. Seems like the endless stamina he now had during training had a downside to it as well. 

He spent hours in the little reading nook, the table in front of Minato slowly filling up with more and more scrolls as he went through them with a barely concealed distaste. He could already tell that his son would not be a paper ninja if he ever returned to his body. 

It was when he was reading what he thought to be an unrelated scroll to his research out of boredom that he finally discovered what he was looking for **.** Minato had taken a small break after starting to lose focus and picked up a scroll on Uzumaki shrines in Konoha when there was finally a mention of a Shinigami mask capable of connecting the wearer to the Shinigami. 

Jolting upright, Minato hurriedly jotted down the text. Finally! A breakthrough! 

  
  
  



	5. Ramen Days

**Chapter 5 Ramen Days**

Minato raced home from the archive practically vibrating in excitement. He could do this! He could fix everything and return his son’s body to its rightful owner! Minato went into an alley and released his henge with a deep breath. He inhaled feeling a bright hope for the future and started running back to his apartment with a bright smile on his face. 

He was immediately brought down to reality by a civilian who tripped him as he went running by. Sprawled out on the dirt he couldn't help but bitterly think, ‘ _ Oh. Right. People hate my son.`  _ This brought another dilemma to mind. What would happen to Naruto after he was returned to his body? Would he be able to take care of himself? Would his soul have experienced growth while in the Shinigami’s stomach? More research and planning was definitely needed… 

Minato returned to his apartment at a much more subdued pace, he didn't know what the Shinigami’s stomach was like as an environment for raising a kid and he worried about the state of Naruto’s soul. Minato knew that if the treatment of the villagers got much worse, he could always have the Sandaime reveal Naruto’s parentage, so hopefully some of the hate would abate. 

Minato arrived at his apartment without any further incidents. He dispelled his decoy shadow clone and was assaulted with memories of hours of menial chores, doubling his exhaustion. Minato stumbled onto his bed, head pounding from the day’s revelations, no energy left to get up and cook dinner. He lay on his bed unmoving, slowly being lulled to sleep by the soft comfortable surface, when there was a knock at his door. 

“Hmm? Wazzat? Who is it?” Minato mumbled as he crawled off his comfortable bed to the door. Opening the door, Minato was greeted by the sight of the Sandaime dressed in his normal Kage robes sans the hat. 

Minato tilted his head to the side, curious as to what the Hokage could possibly want. This was the second time the man had visited his apartment. 

“Oh! Old man! What are you doing here again?” 

“Hahaha! I came to check up on you again, my child! Would you like to join me for dinner? I see you’ve been hard at work today cleaning.” Minato was glad he had set up a decoy shadow clone; it just reconfirmed that ANBU was still guarding him. He hadn’t sensed any ANBU while out as the Nara clansmen, but it was good to know that he should still be careful with his actions. 

“Woahhh, how did you know that? Do old men really know everything?” Minato asked cheekily. 

“Haha no, that's just me my child.” The Sandaime laughed. “So what do you say? Would you join me for some ramen? I know a good stall.” 

“Sure old man! As long as you treat me!” Minato snickered; he would eat the old man’s wallet out in revenge for sticking his son in an orphanage. Last time the old man had brought him to a generic restaurant where the food didn’t interest him; this time he would be treated to something he actually enjoyed. 

The old man smiled and nodded genially; he set off at a slow ambling pace. Minato followed along sedately, content to amble with the old man. He noticed that the glares he received were much tamer when he was next to the Kage, and he stared at the Hokage as they walked. The Sandaime noticed and explained. 

“I am a very important man in this village, young Naruto; I oversee all that goes on in Konoha, that is why people look at me with such respect.”

“Huh. Okay!” Minato could remember the better days when he was on the receiving end of such looks. It was always slightly awkward yet fulfilling each time he walked down the street to be greeted with such respect laden eyes. He just wished that they wouldn’t treat his son with such disdainful looks. 

The duo finally turned a corner towards a small stall that Minato recognized immediately. Hit with a wave of nostalgia, Minato stopped to stare at the stall, overwhelmed by the many times he and Kushina had visited the small shop. 

“Hmm? Naruto, are you alright my boy?” The Sandaime asked, noticing that Naruto had stopped following for a moment.

“Uh. Y-yeah! It just smells so good that I was shocked for a moment, you know?” Minato hastily said. 

“Oh, indeed, but if you think the smell is good then the taste will blow you away.” 

“Woah, the food is that good here?” 

“Of course!” 

Entering the small shop, the cook at the back hurried out to serve his customers. 

“Hi! Welcome to Ichirakus! What can I get you toda-“ The man paused, staring at Naruto in shock. Minato winced internally, hoping that the kindly old man he had known wouldn’t turn his son away like many other shop keepers had. The man stared intently at Naruto, lost in thought until he remembered where he was. 

“Ah, sorry! I’m Ichiraku Teuchi. What can I get for you two today?” The man asked, a wide smile blooming on his face. Minato let out a sigh of relief and mirrored the man’s sunny smile. 

“Can I get a large pork and miso ramen?” Minato asked, barely even glancing at the menu. 

“Of course! First time customer gets first bowl on the house!” Teuchi cheerfully replied. “Ayame! We have customers! A large pork and miso ramen! And?” 

The Sandaime chuckled. “I'll have the same as young Naruto here.” 

“Alright! Two large pork and miso ramen!” 

He then turned around and started furiously cooking, making Minato and the Sandaime laugh as his young daughter stumbled out the back. 

“Daaaaad! Why won't you let me cook yet?” Ayame whined piteously. 

“Ayame dear, you’re still learning, and you can’t serve the customers like that!” Teuchi laughed as he pulled the noodles with sure, experienced hands. 

“At least let me make the stock tomorrow!” 

“Sure, sure. But I have to taste it first!” he reminded. 

Minato’s smile couldn’t get any wider if he tried. The old shop was exactly how he remembered it. Homey and friendly like no other restaurant. He was endlessly grateful to Teuchi for treating his son like any other customer, and his hope for Konoha was renewed from the interaction. 

Thinking about his plans to return Naruto to his body, Minato distractedly slurped his ramen. The Sandaime noticed and decided to see what was troubling the boy so.

“So Naruto my boy, what are you thinking so hard over?” 

Minato started, choking on his ramen for a bit, after a heavy coughing fit to dislodge the noodles he turned to the Sandaime, wiping tears away from his eyes. Minato decided to see what would happen if he asked about Naruto’s parentage just in case things went south with the Shinigami. 

“Nothing much old man, just wondering who my parents were. Say. You know a lot of stuff old man, did you know my parents?” 

This time it was the Sandaime’s turn to choke on his food. Minato calmly waited for the old man to stop coughing before asking again. 

“Well? Did you know my parents?” 

“Ahh… I’m sorry my child, I do not know who your parents were, but I’m sure that they were wonderful people,” the Sandaime said, patting his chest. 

Minato frowned in disappointment, he didn’t have too many hopes that the Sandaime would actually reveal anything, but he’d hoped for a different answer instead of ‘I don’t know’. Meanwhile, Teuchi looked to be holding back tears as he stared at Naruto. 

Minato simply kept his promise to eat the Sandaime’s wallet out; the old man watched in suspended horror as he demolished bowl after bowl of ramen. Teuchi seemed to get more and more gleeful after each emptied bowl, and Ayame was simply stunned that someone so small could fit so much food in their stomach. Minato suspected that his increased appetite had something to do with Uzumaki genes, as he could remember Kushina eating just as much. It was interesting to him that he had increased metabolism and stamina in exchange for a lack of concentration and excess energy at all times. Useful for a ninja, but not so much for a researcher like he had been. 

After Minato had finished torturing the Sandaime’s wallet, he returned to his apartment to plan out how he would return his son’s body. According to the scroll he found, there was an Uzumaki hall of Noh masks that contained a special Shinigami mask that allowed the wearer to channel the Death god. The wearer could then direct the god to slice his stomach open, undoing the reaper death seal and freeing whatever was in his stomach. As a price the wearer would then be sacrificed to the Shinigami as the wound on the Shinigami would transfer to the mask wearer. 

Minato needed to prepare a location to seal the Kyuubi’s Yin half within his son and somehow survive long enough to be able to seal his own yin half in Naruto’s mindscape. Despite Minato’s fondness for Konoha, he just didn’t trust the villagers not to mistreat his son. He would have to somehow remain with his son to take care of him in case anyone tried to harm him. As soon as Minato could finish drawing up the seals to contain the Kyuubi’s chakra and create an array to contain his consciousness, he would transfer the rights to his body back to its rightful owner. In the meantime, he would continue just as he had before, take care of the body to the best of his abilities and starting Naruto’s Shinobi training early. 

  
  


One day Shisui stumbled upon an interesting scene as he entered the training grounds. Naruto was balanced with one finger on the tip of a senbon upside down on top of the running creek that flowed through the middle of the training grounds with various leaves and miscellaneous objects stuck all over him. 

Shisui’s sweat dropped, “Uhhhhh, hey, whatcha doing over there?”

“I’m practicing my chakra control, Shisui-san!” 

“Uhhh okay… Don’t hurt yourself there buddy.” 

“I’m fine, I'm fine.”

“You looking to become an iryo-nin, Naruto?” 

“Huh? No? Why would you think that?” 

“Well it's just that the only Shinobi I know who do such ridiculous chakra control exercises are medic nins… Why are you so hooked on chakra control anyways? Shouldn’t a kid your age be focused on stretching chakra coils for larger reserves?” 

Minato laughed. He laughed so hard he lost control and fell into the creek with a splash. 

Sputtering, he climbed out of the creek, leaves still stuck to his skin. 

“Shisui-san, I probably will never need to worry about my chakra reserves. I can perform over a hundred shadow clones and not be tired.” 

Shisui’s eyes bugged out. “No way! You’re a tiny pipsqueak! I can barely manage two!” 

“I just got lucky with genetics, I guess. I am an Uzumaki afterall.” 

At this Minato felt a bout of pain; his son would never be able to learn about Uzumaki traditions and customs now that the clan was all gone. 

“Ahh, you’re right, a real Uzumaki, huh? You don't exactly have the hair for it though?” 

“Ah, yeah, it comes from my father's side I guess…” 

Shisui tilted his head curiously, “Speaking of which, who are your parents? And where are they? Shouldn’t they be worried about their kid being out all the time?” 

“Ah. My parents are dead, and I've never known who they were.” Minato replied truthfully. 

Shisui squinted at Naruto for a minute. “Say, when did you say your birthday was again?” 

Minato’s sweat dropped. “I, uh, never did say. Um, it’s October 10th.”

Shisui leaned back, closing his eyes, “Huh. How interesting.” Shisui stared intently at Naruto and nodded his head. “I understand now.” 

“Huh? What do you understand?” Minato had an idea of what Shisui understood. 

“Nothing, don’t worry about it pipsqueak.”

“Uh, okay, if you say so Shisui-San.” Minato was relieved that Shisui was a smart kid; he had really found a wonderful young Shinobi. 

“Say, Shisui-San, what do you think of getting some more training to become even faster?” 

“Huh? You know of better training, squirt?” Shisui asked. 

“Yeah! If you use weights or even resistance seals while training you can increase your speed by a lot!” 

“Hooh? You might be onto something there! I've never thought of that! Looks like I need to get some weights or something.” 

“Ah, Shisui-San, I’m an Uzumaki. I can draw you resistance seals.” 

“You would do that for me? Damn, thank you pipsqueak!” 

“You have to stop calling me pipsqueak thought.” Minato deadpanned. 

Shisui smiled sunnily. “Is that it? That’s easy. Thanks bean sprout!”

Minato let out a frustrated whine and face palmed while Shisui laughed, slapping Minato on the back. 

The kid was scary smart; it seemed that every thing Shisui taught him, he already knew. It only took one or two tries for the kid to get everything down, and it was honestly quite intimidating. In fact, whenever Shisui tried teaching the kid something, he himself ended up learning a thing or two from the kid instead! Honestly if Shisui didn't know Itachi, he would have been thoroughly unnerved by the child genius he had in front of him. It relieved Shisui that Naruto could still act like a kid sometimes. 

Sometimes he regretted asking Naruto to train with him, simply because he was worried over the kid’s lost childhood. But he didn’t regret getting to know the blond ball of sunshine. The kid always had a quip for him and had a smile that would put the sun to shame. 

So Shisui worried. He didn’t know what pushed the kid so hard, and he’d heard of what the young boy contained from “well meaning” clansmen who warned him away from the Jinchuuriki. It seemed that no one cared about Naruto, and the few times they went into the village together, the glares and harsh treatment the child received made his stomach churn. Honestly, he would have been worried that Naruto would abandon Konoha with how he was treated, but Naruto seemed to take it all in stride. 

Shisui watched Naruto train for a while, he’d had a question that had been on his mind for the past few days and he finally found time to voice his thoughts. 

“Hey, Naruto.”

“Yeah? What’s up Shisui-San?

“Mah, enough with the San already, just Shisui is fine. How many times have I told you that?” 

“Hahah, sorry, it’s just a habit. What did you need Shisui?” 

“Why do you train so hard, Naruto?

“Huh?”

“What are you training for? Shouldn’t you be enjoying being a kid? You aren’t a clan child, so you have time to be a kid for a while longer. Actually, even clan children don’t train as hard as you, you know? Itachi doesn’t count. Shouldn’t you be playing with friends?” 

Naruto laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Shisui, I don't really have any friends aside from you…” 

“What!?!” Shisui exclaimed. That was ridiculous! The kid was remarkably talented and sunny as all hell, people should be tumbling over themselves to make friends with him. Oh. Except. There was  _ that. “ _ That’s not good, kid; you need to make some friends, get connections, otherwise what do you even fight for? I need to introduce you to Itachi. I think you would like him…” Shisui mused. 

Naruto simply nodded. Shisui didn’t notice that he never answered the original question and carried on making plans to introduce the two geniuses. Minato himself had a hard time answering the question. After all, he originally trained himself into the ground to gain some form of acknowledgment and praise, and then he fought to protect what was precious to him after meeting Kushina. But Kushina was gone and he had succeeded in protecting Konoha with his life. What did he fight for as Naruto? 

“That's it! I’ll bring Itachi to our training sessions! You’ll see kid! He’s a lot like you in a way! Scary smart, oddly mature, and skilled as all hell! You two will get along like peas in a pod, I promise!” 

Minato smiled. The answer was right in front of him. He would continue to protect what was precious to him. Shisui’s innocent smile was worth the life he had sacrificed. This was enough for him, and according to Shisui he would be making new bonds as well. 

The future was bright. He hoped his son would have shared similar sentiments and gained many friends. 

Days slowly passed as Minato doubled down on his training and seal creation. Buying sealing supplies was easy now that he could henge reliably. He had repurposed his cave on the Nara compound into a sealing chamber that was heavily warded to keep the Kyuubi's chakra from leaking out. Minato also prepared various contingency seals just in case any of the warding seals were to break and alert the Shinobi of Konoha. He had worked out a deal with the Kyuubi so that the Kyuubi would heal his body once he sliced open the Shinigami’s stomach. This way neither Naruto nor the Kyuubi would die in the process of unsealing, and that left Minato to take the brunt of the sacrifice. 

Minato felt it. His renewed hope for the future was burning bright. He would succeed, and his son would become the child of prophecy that he believed in in his final moments.


	6. Rainy Days

Minato woke up with a smile on his face that could rival the sun. Today was the day! Today was when his preparations would finally come to an end! He would be able to guide his son in the future as the rightful owner of his now highly trained body returned.

Minato glanced out of the window, noting that it was an overcast day and seemed to be on the verge of rain. Clouds were heavy in the sky and it was windy outside. But to Minato, even the foreboding weather couldn’t bring him down from his bright mood. 

Minato quickly left a shadow clone in his apartment as he set off to the location of the Uzumaki mask hall. He henged into the same generic Nara clansmen as the day he infiltrated the library and practically skipped the whole way to the temple on the outskirts of the village. 

The temple was old and practically falling apart from disuse. It appeared that no one had been to visit in a long time. Minato assumed that Kushina had been too young to know about the temple; otherwise she would have tried to restore some of her Uzumaki heritage. 

Entering the dilapidated temple, Minato quickly came upon a wall of Shinigami masks. The wall was painted with black flames along the bottom and each mask differed slightly from the rest. Every mask was lovingly rendered in an almost grotesque amount of detail, all with the same grimace. The rows and rows of masks sent sweat drops down Minato’s face; he wasn’t quite sure which mask was the correct one. The scroll had only mentioned one specific mask. It was truly an example of hiding a tree in a forest. 

Minato quickly closed his eyes and dropped into his mindscape. 

The Kyuubi was sitting up, paying close attention to the proceedings, as this was the day he would become whole again. 

“Hey Kyuubi-sama, would you happen to know which mask is the correct one?” Minato asked tentatively. 

**“Why would I know? You are a sensor and a sage, are you not? Just pick the most ominous feeling one.”** The Kyuubi deadpanned, leaning his chin on a paw. 

Minato sweat dropped, and he left his mindscape rather put out. He closed his eyes and opened up his senses to the wall of masks. Just like the Kyuubi said, there was one mask out of the rest that exuded a foreboding sensation similar to the cold consuming aura of the Shinigami. Reaching up and taking the mask in hand, Minato felt a chill down his spine at the sensation of power contained in the mask. 

Taking the mask back to his hideout at the Nara clan compound was easier with the Nara henge on. Minato wasn't even questioned when he casually walked past the chunin guarding the clan compounds. As he made his way over to his cave he noted that the weather seemed to be worsening, but it wouldn't dampen his good mood. 

Minato entered the cave and activated thirteen layers of seals just in case things went south with the resealing of the Kyuubi. He prepared his body for the ritual, taking off his white shirt and painting the necessary seals for sealing the yin half of the Kyuubi onto his stomach. The sealing would require a second layer of seals to be added to the original eight signed seal. Minato had added an additional six seals over the original seal prongs to keep the even seal balanced.

Holding the mask in his hands, Minato took a deep breath and dropped into his mindscape again. Looking up at the great fox, who could barely conceal his anticipation, he asked,    
  
“So Kyuubi-sama, are you ready for this?” 

**“Am I ready to be made whole again? Of course! Get on with it, human!”**

Minato nodded, “Of course, are you sure of your role in this?” 

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes,  **“Yes, yes, I will keep both of us alive while you grapple with the Shinigami for your son.”**

Minato gave the Kyuubi a genuine smile. “Thank you.” 

Minato opened his eyes to the real world once more. Taking another fortifying breath, he placed the mask over his face.

Instantly he was overcome with the chilling aura of the Shinigami. Minato grunted as he channeled the Shinigami’s chakra, a familiar white robed figure forming behind him. The figure was ghastly in appearance, a cruel emancipated grin etched across its face with long white horns atop its head and long shaggy white hair. 

It removed the knife it held in its mouth, slowly dragging the knife across its stomach in a long bloody slash. A bright burst of pure red yin chakra leapt forth from the apparition’s stomach as Minato hacked up blood, a slash, mirrored to the slash on the death god, carving itself into his body. 

Minato shakily performed the hand signs necessary for his sealing jutsu. The floating yin chakra was sucked into the seal on his stomach forcefully and Minato gagged as it burned into his skin and chakra coils. He fell over clutching his bleeding stomach in pain, calling out in a weakened voice, 

“Kyuubi! Your promise!” 

The Kyuubi had been relishing the feeling of becoming whole once more, he distractedly sent just enough chakra to Minato to heal him, more engrossed in the feeling of his returned power. 

Meanwhile Minato was writhing on the ground in pain, wondering if his sealing had worked as the roiling chakra battled beneath his skin. He tore the mask off his face and flung it to a far corner of the cave while he grabbed his stomach. 

After several tense minutes of agonizing pain Minato let out a gusty breath as the pain began to slowly recede. His chakra coils had finally stretched enough to accommodate the rest of the Kyuubi’s chakra. 

This was why Jinchuuriki could only be made while the host was young. The subject needed to have flexible enough chakra coils to endure the sudden addition of another source of chakra. Otherwise there could be dire consequences from ruptured chakra coils. 

Minato panted, pushing himself upright from his fetal position. He sat in a lotus position and delved into his mindscape once more. 

Arriving at his mindscape, he immediately took in the stark differences in the scenery. The sewer walls looked cracked and crumbling and the pipes along the walls were leaking much more than usual. The biggest difference was that now the cage that contained the Kyuubi was twice its original size, holding a much larger fox who seemed to be radiating smugness. 

“Kyuubi-sama, have you seen my son? I’m afraid I might have sealed him in with your yin half when my consciousness didn’t swap places with him.” 

The Kyuubi gazed pensively at Minato, several times he made as it to speak only to hesitate in the end. He tilted his head considering his next words carefully and finally spoke. 

**“Minato. Your son is gone.”**

Minato started for two reasons, this was the first time that the Kyuubi had referred to him by name and- wait, what? 

Minato laughed nervously. “Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you quite right, haha…” 

**“Fool. You heard me correctly. Your son is gone. His soul merged with your own that night. He was not in the Shinigami’s stomach.”** The Kyuubi shifted so he was lying down, staring eye level with Minato. 

Minato fell to his knees. Mind whirling in shock. “B-but. How? No. He can’t be? He was perfectly fine during the sealing,” Minato protested. 

**“The amount of pressure from my chakra combined with my killing intent was too much for a newborn baby. He died shortly after being brought too close to me. His soul collapsed and latched onto yours, merging with you and the seal. ”**

Minato stared blankly at the Kyuubi, mind processing the cold words slowly. He suddenly rose to his feet, angrily stomping up to the Kyuubi’s cage. 

“YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW FROM THE MOMENT I GAVE YOU MY MEMORIES! YOU KNEW AND YOU ALLOWED ME ON THIS FOOL'S ERRAND!” he roared. 

The Kyuubi rose up to his full height and roared back,  **“OF COURSE I KNEW. OF COURSE I ALLOWED YOU ON THIS SO CALLED ‘FOOL’S ERRAND’. I WANTED MY OTHER HALF BACK. I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND. I AM YOUR PRISONER!”**

Minato deflated immediately, the sudden rush of anger leaving him exhausted and empty, “Was it me then? Was it my fault for taking my child to be the Jinchuuriki?” He couldn’t stay angry at the Kyuubi, the Kyuubi’s had just been used as a weapon that terrible night. 

The Kyuubi merely watched Minato in silence as the man proceeded to collapse in front of him, weakened legs finally giving out on him. Outside in the real world, drops of rain started to fall from the sky. 

**“If it helps... he only died when I focused the full force of my killing intent on him. Otherwise he might have lived.**

And. Minato. Broke. 

The stress of being reborn into his sons body, the stress of not being able to properly mourn for his wife, the stress of the village moving on without him, the stress of having to train for a future of chaos, it was all too much. 

Minato sobbed shamelessly in front of an uncaring audience. He wailed and cried for his lost family and shattered hopes. 

Unknown to Minato, his body began to exude an ominous red chakra. The chakra slowly bubbled up and began forming a shroud around him. The rain falling outside began to pick up speed. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the distance. 

Minato considered the harsh treatment he had to endure from his beloved village. He considered the bitter loneliness and biting hatred he experienced. He remembered the cold neglect and need for self sufficiency. 

And. He. Hated. 

At this moment Minato truly hated the village of Konoha and everything it stood for. 

The shroud of chakra solidified and began to quickly form ears and three tails. 

Minato considered all that he had done for the sake of Konoha. He remembered bloody missions, distasteful tortures, and most of all, sacrificing the family that he had finally obtained with his own two hands. 

A fourth tail formed with an explosion of chakra, tearing through four of Minato’s pre prepared seals. The body stood up; empty inside, just a shell of hate and anger. It lashed out against the walls of the cave. Leaving great gouges behind from where the claws had struck. 

Minato remembered that fateful day during the 3rd Shinobi war. The day he earned his moniker. 

_ Konoha was losing.  _

_ There was no way around it. They were being pushed back by the Iwa forces and there was no way to stop the onslaught.  _

_ But there was one. An experimental jutsu that one distinctive Jounin had been working on for years.  _

_ Tri-pronged Kunai rained down from the skies in droves scattered across the battlefield in random locations.  _

_ The Iwa nin disregarded the ineffective attack and continued their charge forwards.  _

_ Suddenly there were flashes of yellow across the whole battle field.  _

_ Too fast for the eye to see, there was a flash, and an Iwa Jounin fell to the ground with a hole through his neck. _

_ Flash! A throat slit. Flash! A Kunai to the brain. Flash! A Shuriken to the neck. Flash! A Rasengan to the chest. Flash! A swift decapitation. Flash!  _

_ ‘So much death’ Minato blankly thought. Body moving on auto pilot to take down the next Shinobi in the most efficient manner.  _

_ His body didn’t stop moving until the whole battle field was silent. Konoha Shinobi were staring at him in wonder and hope. Iwa Shinobi were fleeing for their lives in panic, screaming at the sight of a tri-pronged Kunai that signified swift death.  _

_ His second moniker was one that he was not proud of. The Grim Reaper of Iwa. He’d reaped the lives of many that day, they claimed that he killed over a thousand Shinobi that day but Minato felt that he’d killed more than a thousand. Each slash, each stab was engraved on his memories in a flash of the world passing by. It was simply too much for a single man to bear. _

_ But he didn’t bear it alone. He had Kushina.  _

But now? What did he have? What did he fight for? Why did he even try or care anymore? 

The creature that was his body rampaged through the small cave, tearing at the walls and ground with great furious sweeps. It had six tails waving angrily behind it, Minato’s last three warding seals barely hanging onto existence. 

**“Stop your pathetic weeping already. This is shameful. This is the man who is called ‘The Yellow Flash’? This is the man who sealed away the Great and Terrible Kyuubi no Yoko? Pathetic.”**

Minato looked up at the Kyuubi in shock. 

**“Didn’t you reaffirm your resolve long ago? Who are you wallowing in pain in front of me? Certainly not the man who split me in two and sealed me away. Certainly not the man who saved his village time and time again.”**

Minato looked at the Kyuubi in a new light, was the Kyuubi? Actually comforting him? The Kyuubi had pulled him out of his depressive thoughts once more. 

Minato’s body had paused in its rampaging, the very last warding seal keeping him from discovery hanging on by a thread. 

Indeed. Minato had reaffirmed himself when he was training with Shisui. And suddenly Minato remembered. The good times that he had in Konoha. The reasons he’d loved Konoha. Shisui’s mischievous smile, Kushina’s bright laughter, Teuchi’s wry grins, the Sandaime’s wise smirks. There was so much good in Konoha that he had experienced as well. 

Minato couldn’t allow the cycle of hate to consume him as well. He understood the villagers’ pain, and he didn’t need to add to it. He would have to live for his son’s sake and carry on in his place. He could not afford to be consumed by despair just yet, there was so much to be done for the good of Konoha. 

What would Kushina even think of him if he let this overwhelm him? He would just have to do his very best to make his son and wife proud of the life that he was granted. This would be his second chance to do some good for Konoha. He would honor Naruto’s sacrifice by living life to the fullest extent that he could. It would have been what Kushina wanted as well. It was what he himself had wanted for his son.

Minato lowered his head in thought, he definitely needed time to sort out his thoughts and feelings about his new situation but at least he had survived the Shinigami ritual. Wiping his tears away and looking up at the Kyuubi again, he inclined his head respectfully. 

“Thank you very much ,Kyuubi-sama, you have once again helped me in a time of great darkness.” The Minato leaned back pensively. “You said we weren’t friends, but how about we change that?”

**“What.”**

“We should start over, ne? It’s very nice to meet you Kyuubi, my name is Namikaze Minato, or well I guess Uzumaki Naruto now. What’s your name? It just occurred to me that Kyuubi is just a title, correct?” 

The Kyuubi’s spluttered and gaped at this strange human. The man had just performed a complete one eighty with his emotions and was now smiling cheerily at the fox. Just one moment he had been mourning his lost wife and son and then the next he was trying to make friends with the Kyuubi of all things. 

Still in a daze the Kyuubi managed to instinctively respond **“Kurama”** , not really knowing what he was saying. 

“Well it's nice to meet you Kurama-san, thank you very much for your help up till now.” 

Minato bowed to the fox and gathered his wits, compartmentalizing everything he needed to work out for another time. Kurama was still in shock, not registering the words coming out of Minato’s mouth as Minato turned to leave. 

What even was his life? 

  
  


Minato opened his eyes to the real world once more. The cave was in ruins, the walls had been cracked and shattered and the very last seal burned itself out just as Minato returned to sanity. He rushed to suppress all of his chakra. It would be bad if he were to be discovered in this state. 

He gazed in wonder at the destruction around him. Minato had no idea what had happened while he was lost in misery inside his mindscape. Minato checked over his body quickly, no changes except the additional six prongs over the eight signed seal. Perhaps it was an escape attempt by the Kyuubi that took advantage of his weakened emotional state? Letting out a sigh of relief, Minato prepared to leave the cave behind. Though it was storming outside, the weather brought a perfect cover for his next plan. 

Minato set up a few hastily constructed explosive seals to collapse the cave and hide any evidence. He grabbed the mask and hightailed it out of the cave, detonating the low grade seals as he went. Minato hoped that the cave collapse would be blamed on the storm that was currently soaking him to the bone. 

  
  


“Shikaku-San!”

A Nara Chuunin burst into Shikaku’s office, where the man was playing a round of shogi with his son, Shikamaru. 

“Huh? What’s the rush?” He said lazily, glancing over to the panting Chuunin.

“Some of the compound guards have reported strange roaring and other sounds coming from the eastern section of the forest!” 

“Maa, how troublesome, send some Genin to check it out, it's probably nothing. Maybe a landslide or something happened during the storm.” Shikaku said, moving a shogi piece. 

“Hai!” 

“Oh and Shikamaru, check.” 

“Tch. Troublesome old man.” The small child said, pouting cutely. 

“Oi. I’m not that old yet!” Was the indignant response. 


	7. Mild Days

The next day started out pretty subdued for Minato. He’d spent the night mourning and didn’t get very much sleep at all. His body was still dealing with the backlash of having another chakra mass forcibly sealed inside of him as well. Still he’d dragged his aching body over to the fridge and had a meager breakfast of fruit and milk. 

Collapsing on his couch in a heap he decided that he deserved a day to mope around and cry. He could be strong tomorrow but today just wasn’t going to be a good day. 

Minato stared blankly at the ceiling trying to work up the will to get up and at least move to his bed. What he really wanted to do was just sleep the day away, but guilty thoughts occupied most of his mind. He’d worked out most of his problems the day before but tackling them would be a whole other problem. 

Minato sighed. He just didn’t have the will to do anything. Energy he had plenty of and it was really a horrible feeling. Being giddy and energetic enough to want to run around Konoha until he dropped, but the desire to actually do something? Well it just didn’t exist. 

Finally managing to convince himself to at least clean up, Minato dragged himself over to his tiny bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror. Naruto Looked a lot like him. It was disconcerting how much he looked like Minato but at the same time, not like Minato.

For one Naruto had a rounder face and rounder eyes. He also had his hair much shorter than how he used to keep it. Minato guessed that if he grew Naruto’s hair out and lost the whiskers, he would look just like a young Minato. He supposed it was a good thing that the matron at the orphanage insisted on a short hair cut. Minato contorted his face in a variety of expressions, finding Kushina’s smile and laugh lines as he stretched his face. 

Struck by another bout of depression Minato slouched over to his bed and collapsed on it in a lump. He lay there unmoving and uncaring of the time that passed him by. This time it was the wall that he stared blankly at, letting out another despondent sigh Minato turned over hoping to at least get some sleep. He’d laid on his bed for several long hours when there was a knock at the door. Opening up his chakra sensing Minato felt that it was Shisui at the door, he’d also brought someone along with him apparently. 

Minato stumbled over to the door and opened it a crack, peering out and feigning surprise he asked, 

“Shisui-san? What are you doing here?” 

Shisui laughed and pushed the door open the whole way, slapping Naruto on the shoulder,

“Come on shorty! Stop with the san already! And don’t tell me you forgot about our training today! I even brought Itachi with me!” He pointed exuberantly at the quiet looking Genin with distinctive tear troughs and long dark hair tied in a ponytail standing behind him. 

Minato looked at the energetic Chuunin in fond exasperation, he would have continued to waste the day away had Shisui not shown up. 

Naruto scratched his face hesitantly, “Sorry Shisui I wasn’t feeling well today, hold on a minute I’ll go get changed and then we can go.” 

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!” Shisui excitedly pumped his fists.

Pulling back into his apartment, Minato rushed to throw on a navy short sleeved shirt, sleeveless orange hoodie, and tan shorts. 

The trio then left his apartment together towards training grounds 41 and Itachi introduced himself to Naruto. 

“Hello Naruto-san, my name is Uchiha Itachi, Shisui has told me much about you.” 

“Hello Itachi-san, it's very nice to meet you. I hope Shisui’s been telling you good things at least,” Minato said. 

“Do not fear it has all been about your training prowess.” Itachi sedately responded. 

“Well that's a relief to hear.” Minato chuckled. 

“Hey! What kind of person do you think I am?” Shisui cried. 

Both younger boys shared a laugh at Shisui’s expense. 

“So Itachi-san how do you know Shisui? I met him by accident at training grounds 41 one day.” Minato asked out of curiosity. Shisui had mentioned the Uchiha heir a few times during training but he never mentioned how they met. 

“I met Shisui-san while training. I was practicing my Kunai techniques when Shisui appeared.” 

“Ah! I remember that day! Maa, I was so surprised a young kid like you could pull off such a complicated maneuver!” Shisui reminisced happily. 

“Ah, I see. I rather like Kunai techniques myself. Would you be able to show me the technique?” Asked Minato with his eyes shining in delight. 

“Sure, sure pipsqueak! Speaking of which, could you draw the resistance seals you talked about last time for Itachi too? Would want him to get left behind by our training after all.” Shisui laughed. 

“Sure! I’ll have them ready by next week. But please don't spread around the fact that I can draw seals Shisui-San, I don't want people to know yet.”

Shisui was confused, it was like this all the time with Naruto, he was always so secretive and paranoid, he often made sure that no one was spying on them when they trained. 

“Huh? Sure no problem, I haven’t told anyone yet, but any reason in particular you don't want people to know about your skills?” 

Minato winked cheekily at Shisui. “Don’t you know Shisui? Deception is a Shinobi’s best friend.” 

Shisui huffed a laugh and ruffled Naruto’s hair and Itachi snorted next to him. 

Reaching the trading grounds Itachi helped Shisui set up a variety of Kunai targets and then Shisui took up a position in the middle of them holding eight Kunai in his hands. 

He leapt up into the air and eight flashes of light flew from his hands towards different directions. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Cling! Thunk! The Kunai landed one after another in each target. One Kunai ricocheting off another into a target in Shisui’s blind spot. 

Minato had stars in his eyes over the simple technique. While he himself had been a master of shurikenjutsu in his life time it was always great to see new techniques. 

“Ooh! Ooh! Let me try!” 

“Haha sure pipsqueak it's your turn.” 

Itachi and Shisui then watched in shock as Naruto appeared to completely nail the technique on his first try. Minato himself was slightly dissatisfied, he still hadn’t completely trained up Naruto’s body to his high standards. 

“Woah! Shrimp, first try too!” Shisui exclaimed. 

“No Shisui not first try, see the last Kunai is only on the edge of the target not the center.” Minato replied in a disheartened manner. 

Shisui patted Naruto on the back. “Still! That's impressive for a pipsqueak!” 

Itachi meanwhile was looking at Naruto in a new light. It appeared to Itachi that he’d found a new training partner aside from Shisui. 

“Say Naruto-San, how old are you?” Itachi asked. 

“Huh? Oh! I’m five years old!” Minato replied, ‘ _ Has it really already been five years?’  _ He thought sadly. 

Itachi hummed, “Hmm… you are around the same age as my younger brother.”

“Ah is that so? What’s his name?” 

“It’s Sasuke.” Minato felt a lance of pain shoot through him at the name. He remembered Kushina’s telling him about Mikoto’s child who she hoped Naruto would become good friends with.

Unfortunately due to Naruto being placed in an orphanage, Minato didn’t have the time to worry about friendships for Naruto. Well. It should be his friendships now shouldn’t it? Minato smiled. He would have to make new bonds just like he had done with Shisui. 

“So what do we have on the training menu for today?” Minato asked Shisui. 

Shisui considered the question for a moment. Honestly? He didn’t really have anything planned except for maybe a bit of sparring between the three. 

“Hmm… You can already do the academy three right, Naruto?” 

Minato sweat dropped “Ah actually… I can’t seem to do a simple Bunshin” 

Shisui stared at Naruto in shock while Itachi, who had no clue of the insane control exercises Naruto subjected himself to, simply stared blankly at the whiskered boy. 

“How??? You do so many control exercises! How can you not form a simple Bunshin?” Shisui yelled in confusion. 

Minato hung his head and simply formed the hand seals. Sheep. Snake. Tiger. Letting the results speak for themselves. 

-Poof- A wilted and washed out copy of Naruto appeared beside him before slumping over and dramatically dying in another cloud of chakra smoke. 

Now Minato himself had many theories as to why neither Naruto nor Kushina could perform the clone jutsu properly, most of them related to the Kyuubi’s presence. He just couldn't exactly explain that to Shisui and Itachi despite the identity of the jinchuuriki being an open secret.

Itachi hummed and activated his Sharingan, gesturing to Naruto to perform the jutsu again. Shisui saw Itachi’s eyes and immediately copied him, activating his own Sharingan. 

Minato obliged, forming the hand seals and channeling as little chakra as he could into the technique. Once again a deformed white copy of himself formed beside him. 

Itachi and Shisui blinked simultaneously, turning to stare at each other and then at Naruto. 

Minato shifted uncomfortably, disconcerted under the twin Sharingan gazes. 

“Well?” He asked shifting from foot to foot.

Shisui hesitated to respond before finally saying, 

“Y-your ah well, hm. Your chakra is too dense for the Bunshin. You will most likely never be able to perform many genjutsu as well…” 

Itachi nodded next to him sympathetically. 

Minato nodded in thought, he’d never used many genjutsu in his life before Naruto and he hadn’t really planned on learning very many in this new life. It did mean that he would have to re-master breaking genjutsu though. 

“Maa, well that's okay I still have the shadow clone…”

Itachi perked up in interest at this. 

“You can perform the shadow clone as well? How did you learn it?” He asked. 

Minato sweat dropped, Shisui had just accepted the fact without a second thought after he’d performed the technique in front of Minato one day and Minato had remarked that he could do it as well. 

“Uhhh… Well… I saw a Jounin do it once and copied the hand seals until I could do it!”

Itachi was surprised. This child had done exactly what he had done to learn the shadow clone but he accomplished it without the aid of the Sharingan! This was no easy feat. 

“Yeah, yeah! And get this Itachi! He can perform over a hundred and not get tired!” Shisui added excitedly. 

“I fail to see how.” Was the droll response as Itachi closed his eyes. 

Shisui slapped Itachi’s arm. “Maa, didn’t you see him with your Sharingan? The kid is ridiculous!” 

“If you don’t believe me I can show you?” Said Minato, wryly amused by the proceedings. 

Itachi simply nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Minato formed the signature cross shaped hand seal and shouted, “ Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” 

Suddenly the forest clearing was filled with orange smirking blonds. They all waved hello at the stunned Genin and Chuunin before popping. 

Minato swayed slightly from the memory feedback of so many clones dispelling at once. 

This time Itachi was staring at Naruto with wide eyes and a flabbergasted expression. 

Minato chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Too much? Ehehe…” 

Shisui pointed indignantly at Naruto. Jabbing at his chest with each word. 

“You see! And he’s not even winded! Unfair! Cheats! Ridiculousness!” 

“Ah. But Shisui you’re the one who taught me that ‘a Shinobi doesn’t cheat, they just win.’” Minato pointed out. 

Shisui pointed even harder at Naruto, practically jabbing his finger in Naruto’s face. 

“You! Shush!” 

Minato broke down laughing at that, he heard a few chuckles coming from the stoic Itachi’s direction as he cackled. 

Shisui groaned and dragged a hand down his face. He stared at the two others from between his fingers. Then he remembered his original goal. 

“Hey you two!” He yelled popping back to his cheery attitude. 

“Yes?” 

“Yes, Shisui-san?”

“Itachiiiii enough already Naruto just stopped with the San not you toooo.” Shisui moaned, then he bounced up into a fighting stance “We should have a three way spar!” 

Minato’s eyes narrowed, honing in on Itachi and Shisui, sending shivers down their backs. It was like his eyes had suddenly turned into chips of ice. They could tell that Naruto was ready for anything. 

“Any rules Shisui?” Naruto asked innocently. 

“A-ah yeah. No maiming, and first to surrender loses I guess.”

The three boys took up fighting stances, two textbook uchiha interceptor stances and one academy stance. All three eyed a leaf that was gently floating downward. As soon as the leaf touched the ground they all disappeared in a burst of speed. 

  
  
  


Minato sat on the branch of a large tree, eyes darting in every direction for a possible attack. 

A brace of shuriken came flying towards Naruto sending him jumping away to the right, right into Shisui who twisted and kicked out at him. Naruto blocked the kick and was sent flying to the ground. He hit the ground with a roll as Shisui chased after him. Naruto threw three Kunai directly at Shisui as he lunged towards Naruto. Shisui pulled out his own Kunai and deflected the three Kunai into Itachi who had been silently sneaking up to Shisui. Itachi simply dodged the kunai, throwing his own shuriken towards Naruto and leaping up to engage Shisui in a furious taijutsu bout. 

Minato was a bit peeved having been written off so quickly, he flashed through hand signs,  Futon: Great Break Through ! Minato sent a great bullet of wind towards the fighting duo. 

The two boys turned toward the wind bullet simultaneously and leapt apart from each other, narrowly dodging the bullet which drilled into the ground, sending great chunks of dirt everywhere. 

Itachi retaliated, his hand seal speed so fast that Minato could barely make them out,  Katon: Great Fireball! a giant fireball flew at Naruto who kawarimi-ed out of the way, leaving a scorched log behind him. 

“Hey! Don’t leave me out of this!” Yelled Shisui who flipped through signs for  Katon: Phoenix Flower jutsu,  several small but highly condensed fireballs were sent at both Itachi and Naruto. 

Minato used another  Great Break Through  to block the fire but hidden inside of the flames were burning hot shuriken that he had to kawarimi for. 

Itachi had simply avoided the fire-shuriken combo and rushed at Naruto who was in the middle of dodging Shisui’s attacks. 

Minato threw four kunai at Itachi, using his newly learned technique to bounce a kunai into Itachi’s blind spot. 

Itachi ducked his head letting the kunai sail by harmlessly and threw a flurry of blows at Naruto. Dodging around the blows Minato thought  _ ‘This kid’s good too! As expected of someone who trains with Shisui!’  _ He flipped backwards for more space, throwing out more shuriken and kunai to discourage Itachi from approaching. 

Shisui used this opportunity to throw wire wrapped shuriken at Itachi. Itachi leapt to the left, eyes widening as Shisui pulled the wires, curving the shuriken trajectory towards Itachi. Smirking, Itachi ran through the hand seals for kawarimi at a lightning fast speed, swapping places with a wide eyed Naruto. 

“Oii! I’ll get you for this you know!!” Naruto screamed as he wildly ducked the shuriken and wires by bending backwards and flipping away. 

He jumped up into a tree and created three shadow clones. One ran off to fight Shisui and the other ran towards Itachi the last clone staying behind with Naruto. 

Shisui baited his clone into a wire trap and swiftly dispelled it only encounter the third clone that surprised him by kicking him towards a tree. Shisui rebounded off the tree and shushined straight at the clone, throwing a brace of shuriken at the clone as he went. Shuriken and Shisui crashed into the clone simultaneously, causing the clone to pop in a cloud of smoke, blocking Shisui’s vision for a precious second. 

Itachi meanwhile engaged his Naruto clone in a bout of taijutsu, assessing his skills with sharingan rapidly spinning in his eyes. Blocking a high kick from Naruto he swept his left foot out to catch Naruto’s pivoting foot but Naruto leapt into the air with another kick at Itachi. Itachi blocked with his arm, taking the heavy impact with a grunt. 

Minato watched as itachi dispatched his clone from where he was sitting on top of a tied up Shisui. He hopped off the struggling Chuunin and dashed towards Itachi. Itachi then proceeded to perform a brutal takedown on Naruto, grabbing his arm, flipping over him by using Naruto’s shoulder, and throwing Naruto to the ground. 

  
  
  
  


The results of the spar revealed a few interesting things. First of all Shisui and Naruto were both faster than Itachi, but Itachi had smoother taijutsu compared to them. Between Shisui and Naruto, Naruto was the faster one but Shisui was much more adept at Shunshin. They were all equally matched in ninjutsu but none of the fighters had really revealed their full jutsu repertoires. 

As the boys sat on the ground panting after the spar Itachi stared at Naruto in contemplation for a while. Opening and closing his mouth a few times he finally managed to ask the question that had been on his mind. 

“Naruto-san, I don't mean to be rude but why haven't you graduated from the academy yet? You are obviously skilled enough to pass the exams.” 

Minato tilted his head and considered the question. Why hadn't he decided to graduate just yet? He stood in silence for a worryingly long time before he answered Itachi, 

“Itachi-san, perhaps it is because I have the luxury of not needing to graduate early. I would like to enjoy my childhood despite having filled it with nonstop training.”

Itachi nodded. He understood this very well, he had been forced to graduate early from the pressures of his father and the demands of the clan elders. If clan duties had not demanded it of him, he may not have chosen to graduate either. 

“Well it's late enough I guess. That was a good spar. You really caught me off guard with that clone there Pipsqueak!” Shisui said. “I’ll walk you home Naruto. Itachi you go on ahead of me I’ll catch up.” 

“Of course, it was very nice meeting you today Naruto-san, I hope we continue to have good relations in the future.” said Itachi, dusting himself off. 

“Yeah for sure! It was great meeting you too Itachi! I hope we’ll be good friends too!”

And so the three boys set off on their ways. Shisui spent the majority of his walk with Naruto in a content silence. Every so often though, he would ward off some of the more malicious glares that the villagers sent towards Naruto with his own sharingan enhanced stare. 

“Thank you Shisui, for being such a good friend.” Minato said earnestly. He was honestly thankful that Shisui had taken the time out of his day to search for him and effectively pull him out of his depression and now he was worried for Naruto’s wellbeing in the village. 

“Awww pipsqueak don't say that I'll get embarrassed.” said Shisui rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. 

“I really mean it you know? I'm really grateful to have met you. I just want you to know that.” Minato smiled sunnily at Shisui, who squinted his eyes at the brightness radiating off of Naruto. 

Shisui pulled Naruto into a gentle hug, “Thanks, I guess. I’m glad that I know you as well, pipsqueak.” 

Minato simply hugged Shisui back and nodded into his chest. 

“Good night Shisui, see you tomorrow!” 

“Yeah! Night, Pipsqueak!” 

Minato just palmed his face at the name and sighed as Shisui gave a cheeky smile and wave and then disappeared in his signature shunshin. 


	8. Turbulent Days

Days seemed to fly by as Shisui, Itachi and Naruto all trained together and soon enough it was becoming October again. Minato had easily drawn up gravity seals for both Shisui and Itachi, all three were improving their skills by leaps and bounds. In fact Shisui and Minato had managed to refine the Shunshin jutsu into a new technique that they liked to call Shunpo. It was a combat usable version of the Shushin and could be used to travel distances in an extreme burst of speed that didn't leave an indicator for the destination. It was similar to the Shunshin in that it gathered chakra and then released it for an explosive burst of speed. 

Shisui and Minato had painstakingly refined the Shunpo until it became a much more efficient and combat ready Shunshin. The technique consisted of gathering chakra under the heel as you took a step, allowing the chakra to burst and send the user flying forwards. The best part was that the Jutsu was low chakra cost and you could change directions while using it by simply taking another step. 

Minato almost felt that time was passing too quickly, after all his 6th/30th birthday was coming up soon. He felt he’d accomplished a lot and yet at the same time very little. Minato had set about re-mastering the Kawarimi, henge, Kage bunshin, and rasengan. Polishing each technique until he could perform them seallessly. He’d also practiced the shuriken and kunai bunshins until he could perform them with a single hand seal. Minato had also worked on the accuracy of his sensory abilities, subtly honing them by using them to guess Shisui and Itachi’s fluctuating moods and reading their body language. 

Shisui often mentioned dreams of becoming ‘The Flash Brothers’ with Naruto and Itachi. It didn't hurt to dream after all, since Itachi still had trouble with being fast enough to catch up to Naruto and Shisui, but he was slowly getting there. Shisui had already earned his self assigned nick name of ‘Shunshin no Shisui’ after his latest jounin exams. He’d passed with flying colors, of course. 

On the other hand Itachi had been assigned to take the Chuunin exams solo. Naruto and Shisui had been further refining the Shunpo awaiting Itachi’s return so they could help him with the technique. Shisui had combined his shunpo with his after image clones from his shushin and made the technique twice as effective. Shisui’s after image clones could hit but couldn’t be hit in return. Minato simply focused on making his shunpo faster and faster, until he achieved speeds where it looked like he was using his old Hiraishin again. 

One day just as Shisui was about to leave naruto after walking him home from training as usual; he paused and took something out of his pouch. He then handed Naruto a long thin neatly wrapped box. 

Shisui smiled brightly, “Your birthdays coming up isn't it? I’ll be on a mission that day so here's your gift early! Consider it from me and Itachi!!” 

Minato took the box in his hands and weighed it gently. It was light, whatever it was. He turned the box around, examining it from all angles almost hoping to spontaneously develop x-ray vision. He then shook the box gently, there was a metallic rattling he could hear coming from within it. 

“Well? Open it already!” Shisui said impatiently, he’d had enough of watching Naruto inspect the box suspiciously. 

“Alright, alright you don’t have to rush me. Thanks though.” Minato replied quickly.he tore off the paper revealing a plain cardboard box. Opening the box Minato was floored by the sight of something he thought he wouldn't get to see again. 

It was a sparkling Hiraishin kunai! 

Minato gaped in shock at the gift. How? How had those two gotten their hands on something that was considered a war relic? Minato’s gaze bounced between Shisui and the kunai blankly.

Shisui finally lost his patience and simply stated, “Itachi found it on a mission near Iwa, i just got it fixed up, is all.” 

Naruto’s eyes filled with tears, it was such a considerate gift. He launched himself forward at the Jounin and hugged him tightly. Shisui understood the unspoken sentiments behind the gesture and merely smiled and hugged Naruto back tightly.

“I really am glad to know you two.” Minato managed to choke out to Shisui. Shisui nodded silently and squeezed Naruto just a little harder. Tensions had been rising between the village and the rest of the Uchiha clan, Naruto was like a bright ray of sunshine in the growing darkness. He deserved this small happiness. 

Unwillingly, Shisui slowly pried Naruto off of himself. “I’ve gotta go now Naruto, Mission tomorrow you know how it goes.” And Minato did know, the mental preparations and weapon checks were crucial to a successful mission. “Stay safe Naruto, I’ve been hearing some bad rumors around the village.” Shisui ruffled Naruto’s hair fondly “Well then, see ya!” and he vanished in a quick shunpo. 

Minato fondly hugged the box to his chest. He’d missed his signature weapon. It felt like some lost part of him had finally returned home. 

Minato entered his apartment and softly closed the door. He couldn't contain the soft smile he had on his lips as he reminisced about the past year with Shisui and Itachi. It was as Shisui had said, he and itachi had indeed become fast friends and got along very well. Both were calm and quiet by nature and there was a shared understanding of the expectations that child geniuses were subjected to. 

To Itachi, Naruto was like what he would have been like without the Uchiha clan. Itachi wondered how he would have developed without the pushing of his father and clan, he liked to imagine he would have been like Naruto. To Minato, it was like looking at a quieter version of his old self. The same quiet fire was in Itachi’s eyes, the boy was determined to protect all that was precious to him. 

Preparing for bed Minato relaxed his senses slightly. Not noticing an additional empty presence pop up near his apartment. 

The next few days until Minato’s birthday passed quietly as he trained studiously by himself. Minato had the old academy katas ingrained into his muscle memory and was working on developing a new taijutsu style to use. His old Hummingbird Fist had been effective but overly reliant on speed. If he couldn’t get enough speed and momentum his blows wouldn’t be as powerful. Minato still highly valued speed though, so he would keep that aspect since Naruto’s body was well built for speed as well. Perhaps he could call his new style the Super FlashDance Cheetah Lightning Strike style? 

Minato didn’t understand why Shisui always looked at him strangely whenever he suggested names for things. 

He refined his chakra control even further, testing himself by separating different grains of sand on the palm of his hand while using only his chakra. Minato figured he had enough control to attempt the rasengan again but he would need more practice to be able to precisely teleport for the Hiraishin. He would need the level of control a med nin had to expand on his ability to use the Hiraishin as well. For Minato had  _ plans _ as to how he would improve the already legendary jutsu. 

On the day of his birthday Mianto woke up with a foreboding feeling in his stomach. This would be the first Kyuubi festival he had experienced outside of the orphanage. Wisdom and common sense told him to spend the day inside his apartment. Despite the sandaime telling him to enjoy the festival during one of their weekly dinner dates, Minato couldn't help but doubt the man. The kyuubi container would probably not be greatly appreciated if seen walking around during a memorial festival where sake was well abundant and tempers high from remembrance. 

Minato spent the day laying in bed, staring at the ceiling and counting the amount of cracks he could see. He was bored out of his mind but also didn’t feel like training on such a sad day. He’d already spent a few hours pondering the possibilities regarding what would have happened if his son and wife had lived. If who he suspected to be Uchiha Madara never attacked. He also had a theory that being in Naruto’s body made him much more emotional compared to his own body. He didn’t used to mope this much after all. 

Though speaking of the kyuubi festival… he did have Kurama inside him after all didn't he? Minato closed his eyes and fell into his mindscape. He judged the surroundings with a critical eye. Kuramai was lying lazily on its stomach dozing, the walls had less cracks in it, and the water level seemed lower. Minato took this as a relatively good sign that his mind wasn’t in shambles after that revelation filled day.

The Kyuubi opened an eye, calmly assessing the human standing in front of him. Kurama honestly felt much better as a whole and he could think more clearly as well. This man intrigued him and somehow had an infectious mood. There was a charisma that drew you towards him naturally and the man didn’t seem to even realize it. 

**“What do you want human?”** Kurama growled lowly.

“Ah, nothing really just checking up on you Kurama-san.” Minato said scratching his chin and smiling awkwardly. “I figured I should get to know you better,you know? Since we’re stuck together and all.” 

The kyuubi turned his head away from minato in a huff.

**“There is nothing to know, Human. Now leave. I have no intentions of becoming ‘friends’ with you.”**

“Aw come on Kurama-san, trust and friendship are two way streets you know?” Just then Minato had a bright flash of inspiration. “What if I opened up my senses to you? It must get pretty boring in here, no?” 

Speechless Kurama turned to stare at Minato once more. Minato didn't wait for an answer, he simply strode up to the seal casually and tore another small strip off of the corner of the seal. 

The Kyuubi gaped. What? What even was this human? To so casually extend their very senses to his prisoner? How many times would he continue to be surprised by this infuriatingly cheerful man? 

“Well then! See you around!” Minato chirped cheerily and then popped out of his mindscape. 

What kind of gall did this man have to just exit a conversation with the Great Kyuubi no Yoko like that? Just. What? 

Minato gleefully opened his eyes, a feeling of having successfully bamboozled someone washing over him. He turned on his side and considered his options for the night. Then he sighed, getting up to make dinner before he forgot to eat again. Kushina would have his head if he mistreated Naruto’s body like that. 

Minato had just finished cooking when he felt people gathering in large numbers around his home. Dismissing it as part of the new Kyuubi festival he started to eat. Until someone started to bang violently on his door. Minato jumped to his feet and ran to his window. His senses were going haywire, detecting a large group of people standing in front of his door. Whomever was pounding so hard on his door had absolutely no positive intent towards Naruto at all. In fact it was all negative, so negative that Minato was reminded of a stormy night with a young crying girl and a pillow. 

He ran to the window and looked out and then he quickly hopped out and ran off, shouts following him as he went. 

“THERE HE IS! HE WENT OUT THE WINDOW!”

“CATCH HIM!”

“MAKE HIM PAY!”

“DEMON BRAT GET BACK HERE!” 

Minato shot a quick glance behind him, what he saw made him pick up the pace and run faster. 

A mob! A mob had showed up at his apartment to hunt the fox brat!

Minato was honestly shocked at the amount of hate and people that had gathered. He had done his best to live unobtrusively in the village of Konoha, people rarely saw him on the streets since he shopped under a henge. He never played with children as he was too busy training and he never wandered the streets looking for food since he kept himself in good condition by budgeting. He didn’t understand the sheer amount of animosity that was pouring off of the mob pursuing him. 

Minato ducked and weaved around various stalls, barely taking in the bright colors and cheer of his surroundings as he ran for his life. He ran towards an alleyway hoping to throw the pursers off his trail. It was not to be, unfortunately. There appeared to be some chuunin in the drunken crowd who were able to accurately track him through the throngs of people that Minato had run through. 

He’d had one last request, it was to treat his son like a hero and here people were doing the exact opposite! He had sacrificed so much and yet this was his repayment! Minato giggled hysterically under his breath as he ran, tears building at the corners of his eyes. He thought of all the ways this encounter could possibly end, none of the endings were particularly good. He hoped to lose the crowd but it was difficult when bystanders would point in his direction as he lost the mob with his speed. 

Minato hadn’t had the time to explore the newly rebuilt Konoha since his new life so it was inevitable that he eventually ran into a dead end. Cornered and feeling the mob draw ever closer Minato was stuck in a dilemma.

A flash of inspiration shot through Minato’s mind and he henged into a random trash can by the side of the alley. 

The mob ran by the alley without giving it a second look, shouting obscenities as they went. 

Minato let out a sigh of relief, he waited a good hour or so to let the dust settle and then sent out a shadow clone to check if the coast was clear. 

Knowing that it would be dangerous to be seen as himself Minato henged into his customary Nara disguise and made his way to the Kage tower in search of safety. He entered an alley beside the tower and released the henge and ran full tilt into the tower before anyone could catch sight of him. All that the civilians milling about in front of the tower saw was a yellow blur that disappeared as quickly as it had come. 

Minato popped up in front of the secretary manning the desk in front of the Kage office. She started and gave him a nasty look.

“Please miss I need to see the hokage right now.” He implored. 

The secretary sniffed and went back to her work. “The hokage is busy with very important matters, he doesn’t have time for children.” 

But Minato persisted, he was determined to talk to Sarutobi about the treatment he received at the hands of the villagers. 

“Please miss it's important and he needs to know!” 

“Look he doesn’t have time for children so you can wait over there and see if you’re lucky.” She snappily replied. 

  
  


Minato huffed in impatience. He stubbornly sat himself down on one of the seats in the lobby. He would wait as long as he needed this couldn’t be let go anymore. 

He didn’t have to wait long since the day was ending and the Sandaime soon left the office to go home. 

Mildly startled by the blonde boy sitting in his lobby the Sandaime asked, 

“Now what's wrong young Naruto? You’ve never sought me out like this before?”

“Old man, a mob formed and chased me around Konoha.” 

“What?!?” 

“Yeah. I lost them eventually but they kept yelling things about ‘Avenging their Yondaime and families’ or ‘beating the fox’ or even ‘Finishing what the Yondaime started’”

The Sandaime’s face instantly became grave. He opened the door to the office and waved Naruto in. 

Naruto took a seat in front of the Sandaimes desk as the old man took his spot at the desk. 

“Old man, this can’t continue. The people hate me and I don’t know why.”

The old man rubbed his temples tiredly “I’m sorry Naruto, they hate what they don’t understand and fear.” 

Minato’s eyes narrowed, was the old man going to finally tell him about his role as jinchuuriki? That would allow him to finally train abilities pertaining to a jinchuuriki.

“What do you mean by fear?” 

The Sandaime shook his head, “I’m sorry Naruto I can't tell you just yet, there’s too much you don't understand yet.”

Minato was filled with a crushing disappointment in the Sandaime. This was not how you told a child the reason a whole village despised your existence. 

“That's not very encouraging you know! And can't you just explain what it is that I don't know? I can keep a secret!” He coolly responded. 

“I’m sorry but you’re too young.” 

Minato stood from his chair. Calmly walking up to the Sandaime to stare him in the face. “I’m too young to know why the village hates me? I’m too young to know why they stare at me like that as I walk the streets? I’m too young to know why the prices are doubled when I try to buy anything? I’m too young to know why I don’t have parents? I’m too young to know why mothers pull their children away as I walk by? I’m too young to understand why a mob formed with the intention of lynching me?” 

The Sandaime stared at Naruto with wide eyes. He truly did not know of the extent of the village’s animosity towards the child. 

“If this goes on I can't say there won't be any retaliation.” Minato turned away from the Sandaime to return to his chair. The Sandaime stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the Sandaimes hard eyes. 

“What do you mean by retaliation Naruto?” 

Minato gave the Sandaime a cruel smile. “Why I mean by pranking the hell out of people of course!” 

The old man sighed in relief, allowing his hand to drop from the child’s shoulder, “Just nothing that involves too much paperwork please.” he begged. 

His response was only a wry smile. 

“Old man, promise me that you’ll look into this mob incident won't you? And promise to tell me about the hate?”

Putting on his very best puppy eyes, Minato gazed imploringly at the Sandaime. Even the strongest willed shinobi would be hard pressed to resist those sparkling watery blue eyes. Minato would know. He’d practiced in a mirror after all. 

The Sandaime crumbled and patted Naruto’s head, “Of course my child, i promise that something like this will never happen again. I also promise to tell you when you reach Chuunin. You are a highly responsible child and I hope for you to enjoy your childhood.” 

Minato gave the Sandaime a soft smile, at the very least the old man seemed to genuinely care for his son despite all of the neglect. 

Minato was invited to stay at the Hokage tower for as long as he needed as the ANBU was dispatched to round up the mob’s ring leaders and disperse the crowd. He spent his time waiting by plotting how he would - harmlessly- return fire upon the cruel citizens of Konoha. He may have reaffirmed his determination to protect Konoha when he realized his son was dead but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cause a little havoc. Certain people that didn’t glare at him on the street or at least treated him fairly would be spared, as for the others? No mercy. Konoha would see the return of the Uzumaki Prankster from Hell.

After the Sandaime gave him the all clear, he returned home to his apartment under a henge of a brunette young boy. 

What he found was incredibly disheartening. The outsides of his apartment had been vandalized and covered in various obscene graffiti messages. 

At the very least no one had broken into his apartment from what he could tell. Not that there weren't any markings that showed there had been attempts. 

Minato formed a shadow clone and told it to clean up as much of the graffiti as possible. He didn't want Shisui or Itachi to find out about this incident. It would be his own hidden shame and pain. They didn’t need to know what their precious Konoha was truly like. 

  
  


In the weeks before Shisui and Itachi returned to Konoha, Konoha experienced a wave of pranking like none other.

Haruno Mebuki was washing her hair peacefully one day. She had just returned from a long and tiring council meeting about possibly blocking the demon brat from attending the Academy. She sighed and rinsed her hair out, the shinobi council was adamant that the demon be adequately educated, just like any other child. She had argued that as a demon he didn't need the extra training. Looking up at the mirror she screamed in horror. Her hair! Her beautiful hair! It had been dyed a bright eye searing neon blue! She fainted away in her bath. 

The next day a certain commerce area was struck by a horrible case of itching. Many people were out on the streets furiously scratching themselves searching for relief. The cause was traced back to a commonly used laundromat. Apparently the regular fabric softener had been replaced by itching powder instead. 

Nonsensical tripwires littered the commerce area. While many were duds many others set off large hidden buckets of paint on citizens and shinobi alike. 

Certain civilians had all of their clothes replaced by bright green jumpsuits, while initially unwilling to wear the jumpsuits the civilians were left with nothing else to wear lest they go out naked in the streets. 

A unique youthful Jounin was seen crying buckets of tears over the youthfulness of Konoha when he saw the crowds of green. 

Stink bombs and air horns had been rigged to go off randomly whenever people stepped in the wrong spot on Main Street. Many civilians were left shaken by a series of loud obnoxious noises. 

Pigs numbered 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 were set loose upon the civilian town hall. Hours were spent rounding up the rabid animals and then even longer spent searching for a nonexistent pig. 

Transparent cellophane was wrapped over the toilets of certain civilian houses. 

The locks on all the doors of the civilian council members had been swapped with one another, leaving many a civilian locked in their homes for a day, missing out on work.

The porn collections of certain men became replaced with versions of Icha Icha Yaoi. 

The hokage monument was painted in bright neon colors and graffitied in a most obnoxious manner. 

And much much more. 

Citizens flocked to the Sandaime hoping he would do something about the prankster but the Sandaime merely sighed and dragged his hand down his face as no real harm had been done and no real security measures could be implemented to catch the prankster. The Kage could only shake his head and hand out more D-ranks to disgruntled Genin to clean up the aftermaths of the pranks.

Various Shinobi organized their own personal patrol groups to attempt to find the prankster, but when said prankster had the chakra suppression skills of a sage and stealth skills of a Kage the feat was impossible. 

By the time both Shisui and Itachi returned the whole of Konoha was buzzing with news of an unknown prankster. 

Shisui and Itachi had returned to an overly paranoid Konoha. It was strange because everyone was on edge as if an attack could happen at any moment but there was a distinct lack of tension in the air. Shinobi were jerky and awkward while the civilians seemed to be terrified of their own shadows. 

He’d targeted all the civilian council members and the Sandaimes old advisors in his pranking spree and he couldn’t be happier. Of course his revenge was far from over but this was enough. For now. 

Minato’s prank fest reminded him of better days planning larger pranks together with Kushina. It was a very effective form of stress relief he’d discovered. He fondly remembered how she would happily end up with all the blame after a prank, no one suspecting that Minato -goody two shoes he was- to be in on it as well. Minato would continue her pranks in her honor, and if he let out some of his anger on the civilians? Well, they deserved it. 


	9. Orange Days

Danzo slammed his hand on the table, the ROOT agent standing in front of him stoically did not flinch. 

“You mean to tell me that a crowd of adults and fully trained chuunin LOST a child in our own village?”

“Yes sir, after the boy turned a corner on 56th street the crowd was unable to locate the boy again.” 

Danzo leaned back in his chair and sighed, such incompetent ninja in Konoha’s forces nowadays. This is exactly why his ROOT was necessary for the well being of the village. 

He was furious. His plot to attack the jinchuuriki with a mob and then save him, thus making the jinchuuriki indebted to him had failed spectacularly. Now years of planning had potentially gone down the drain. Hiruzen was suspicious of him now, ROOT was on the verge of being disbanded.

“No matter. The Jinchuuriki was always a long term goal, there are other ways to secure his loyalty. Continue to monitor the boy as usual.” 

The Foundation agent nodded and disappeared. 

Even the reports he received regarding the Jinchuuriki were unsatisfactory. At times the boy would disappear from his agents view and they would not be able to locate him again for hours. It bothered him a lot that even the best of his spies couldn’t read the boy. Somehow a six year old boy would know he was being followed and would never train openly or would lose the spies before disappearing to do who knows what. 

Danzo resolved himself. For the good of Konoha, the Jinchuuriki must be under his thumb. Hiruzen was simply too soft to make use of the Jinchuuriki’s full potential. 

  
  


Minato leapt away from a thrown kunai. Jumping from tree to tree as he dodged various projectiles sent his direction by an incensed Itachi. Minato had finally paid Itachi back for his cheeky kawarimi during their first free for all battle by dying Itachi’s hair a bright pink with a cleverly thrown water balloon. 

“Come on Itachi calm down! It’s not waterproof!” Minato cackled as he leapt from branch to branch “Just dunk your head in the creek and cool off! Ahahah!” 

It had been nearly two years since the three boys had met each other and they were as thick as thieves. They had agreed to form a partnership in the near future so that they could take the same missions together. 

During the one year that had passed, Shisui and Itachi joined the ANBU to further support their clans standing. Though this meant less time for Naruto with the duo, they still made an effort to train regularly with the whiskered blond. Itachi had even introduced Naruto to the rest of his family and his younger brother, Sasuke. 

Sasuke seemed to dislike Naruto on principal, he viewed Naruto as someone trying to steal his brothers time even though Itachi obviously preferred to cater to his younger brothers whims most of the time. Mikoto appeared to be highly pleased that there was another boy willing to be friends with her children. Fugaku hid his reactions towards Naruto, hiding whatever he thought behind a veneer of disinterest. 

Unfortunately tensions between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha had gotten even worse; people now openly expressed discontent with the Uchiha Military police and there were whispers of a possible rebellion in the works. 

Even Naruto had somehow become involved in the whole mess. Certain people accused the Uchiha of consorting with the Kyuubi due to Naruto’s interactions with Shisui and Itachi. They eventually had to move their training to training grounds 44 out of paranoia. 

In fact there were a few times where unsavory individuals who had been encouraged by the mob incident had tried following Naruto to give him a beating. Minato always detected them from far away and remembered his lessons from the chase. He would henge away or send a shadow clone in a random direction. He had also taken the time to explore Konoha during his prank spree for the best hiding places and made a note of all the dead ends he encountered.

Finally giving up on catching Naruto, Itachi panted as he slumped on the ground, pink hair dangling in front of his face limply. 

Minato saw that Itachi had given up and cheekily bounced over to pat Itachi on the head. Itachi glared weakly at Naruto from between strands of neon hair. 

“Hey, Naru- Hahahahahahah!” Shisui had just arrived at the clearing that Itachi stopped in and caught sight of his bright hair. 

Shisui high fived Naruto, “You really got him good this time! Nice one!”

“Yeah! You should have seen his face when I hit him!” 

Itachi humphed and turned away from the two to wash his hair in the nearby creek. 

“So?” He asked as he rinsed his hair out, “What did you call us out here for Shisui? 

“Oh nothing in particular, I thought we needed a day off from missions and we could just hang out with Naruto!” Shisui chirped, plopping down on the ground and crossing his legs. 

Minato copied Shisui, getting comfortable on the ground in front of Shisui, “So what should we do today then?” 

Shisui shrugged blithely, “I don't know. ANBU has been rough lately and Itachi could use a break.” 

Itachi walked over to the two, wringing his hair out and shaking his head, sending drops of water flying at Naruto and Shisui earning indignant shouts of reproach. He then sat down, completing their little triangle.

“I had been meaning to ask you two. What do you think the meaning of a shinobi is?” 

Minato and Shisui both blinked at Itachi not expecting the philosophical question at this time of day, normally Itachi waited until later in the evening to started asking thought provoking questions. 

“Well” Minato started “I think a shinobi… is someone who endures the pains of the world for the sake of others.” 

“Indeed” Said Shisui, “A shinobi is someone who acts in darkness to protect his village” 

Itachi simply nodded his head, deep in thought. Minato examined Shisui and Itachi closely, recently it felt as if they were distancing themselves from him. He chalked it up to the pressures of ANBU but Itachi was acting strange.

“Itachi, what’s on your mind?” 

“Nothing you need to worry about Naruto.” 

Shisui looked at Itachi knowingly, he too was worried about his friend. Itachi was the clan heir and thus knew more details about the coup than Shisui, who was an uchiha orphan, did. 

Itachi was lost in thought. Fugaku had revealed a plan to him after the last clan meeting to stage a rebellion by taking control of the Kyuubi with his Mangekyo Sharingan. The Uchiha had figured if the rest of Konoha kept accusing them of the Kyuubi attack then they may as well take advantage of that. It would be a bloodless revolution if the Uchiha could use the monstrous strength of the Kyuubi to intimidate the rest of Konoha into backing down. 

Except there were many flaws with that plan. First of all it would require Itachi to sacrifice his close friend Naruto. Secondly, it would create a hostile environment built off of fear. Third, what is the Mangekyo didn’t work on the Kyuubi and a second tragedy happened? There would be no Yondaime to save them then. 

Itachi just didn’t know what to do about the whole situation. 

Shisui thought back to his meeting with the Hokage, he was grateful that the old Kage had given him a chance to save his clan from destruction. He would have to bear the stigma of using the Kotoamatsukami on his own clan by himself but it would protect the precious moments he had seen between Itachi and Sasuke. 

Unaware of his companions' thoughts Minato simply scrutinized them closely, he could feel that they both were troubled and conflicted, Itachi more so than Shisui. He didn’t know what could upset them so, perhaps it was an ANBU mission gone wrong? 

“Wanna play a prank on the Hyuuga with me?” Minato asked out of the blue. 

“What?”

“Huh?” 

“I said, do you two want to play a prank on the Hyuuga with me?” 

Shisui connected the dots instantly. He leapt to his feet, finger jabbed into Naruto’s face and shouted, “IT'S YOU! YOU’RE THE ONE WHOS BEEN PRANKING THE VILLAGE!”

Minato smiled innocently, “Who? Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to go dye the Hyuuga clothes orange with me.” 

Itachi snorted at the thought and looked at Naruto as if he were joking. The dawning horror on his face as he realized Naruto was being deadly serious was priceless to Minato. 

“Wait, seriously?” Asked Shisui skeptically. 

Minato smirked “Yep.” He said, popping the ‘p’. 

Shisui jumped up and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders shaking him desperately, “Wait no! Before we go, you have to tell me how you painted the Hokage mountain in broad daylight without anyone noticing!” 

  
  


It was an assignment worthy of an S-rank mission, sneaking into the Hyuuga compound that is. Generally they Hyuuga didn’t use their Byakugan inside their own compound out of privacy concerns but it was still used by the gate guards to prevent outsiders from entering without permission. Making it into the Hyuuga compound without detection had seemed impossible but Naruto provided Shisui and Itachi with specially drawn seals that hid their chakra signatures from dojutsu. 

Itachi marveled at his friend’s skills, Naruto had never really explained how he managed to learn sealing but he trusted them enough to not tell anyone of his prowess. After all, the Hyuuga would go berserk if they learned that a seal had been developed to counter their vaunted eyesight. Not to mention what the Uchiha would do as well...

Holding back the giggles, three young Shinobi went about dying every garment they could get their hands on an eye searing orange in the Hyuuga laundry room. 

“ _ How did you get so much dye, Naruto?”  _ Shisui whispered to Minato as they stuck to the ceiling watching unsuspecting Hyuuga clansmen walk below them. 

“ _ The trick is to make it yourself”  _ Minato whispered back, holding back a bout of laughter as he visualized Hiashi’s sour face in the morning. 

Itachi’s stoic face was twitching as he crawled upside down besides the whispering duo. Minato could see the barely suppressed laughter shaking Itachi’s body. He was sorely tempted to poke him in the ribs to see if Itachi would pop. But that would give the jig away. 

Sneaking out of the compound was easier than sneaking in. The trio were able to spray paint a few cheeky messages on the walls as they left, consisting of lewd jokes and jabs about how ‘all seeing’ their eyes really were. 

When they made it back to the clearing in training grounds 44. The trio stood around staring at each other stoically. Itachi’s left eye was twitching violently. Shisui’s mouth was spasming and Naruto was shaking. Shisui was the first to crack, bursting out in loud uproarious laughter, setting off both Itachi and Minato. 

“I - Hahahaha - Can’t believe - Hahaha- we just did that!” He guffawed. 

Itachi was pounding the ground laughing and failing to stop. Naruto had simply abandoned all dignity and was simply rolling around on the ground giggling. 

After several breathless minutes Shisui finally calmed enough to choke out a thanks towards Naruto. 

“What for? For getting you two nearly caught as we were climbing that wall? No. You don't have to thank me, that's what friends are for!” Naruto said sagely, patting Shisui’s fluffy fluffy hair. 

“No really thanks Naruto we needed that” Shishi ruffled Naruto’s hair in return. 

Itachi nodded in the background as Naruto and Shisui devolved into a hair ruffling fight. 

“Indeed thank you very much for the much needed humor, Naruto.” He said, cheeks still tinted pink from laughter. 

Naruto gave up on the hair fight, letting Shisui mess up his already messy hair even further as he smiled softly at Itachi. 

“No problem.” 

As Itachi and Shisui were leaving that day they both pulled Naruto into tight hugs. Itachi whispered to Naruto just as they left, 

“If any Uchiha tries to get you to go anywhere with them, come find me or Shisui immediately. I know you can take care of yourself, but be safe. Please.” 


	10. Darker Days

Shisui panted as he ran, chased by several ROOT members. He flipped in mid air dodging a throw array of kunai and blocked a blow aiming to hamstring him. 

How had it all gone to hell so quickly? 

_ Shisui stared over the village from the top of the Hokage monument. He thought about the tender moments Itachi shared with his brother, Sasuke. He thought about the smiles that he had seen as he walked through the village. He thought about all the dark unmentionable deeds he had performed for Konoha in ANBU. _

_ Shisui mentally apologized to Itachi, he would be taking on the burden of stopping the coup by himself, he would use the Kotoamatsukami on the clan. This would protect the rare and precious smile that Itachi held whenever he spent time with Sasuke.  _

_ Suddenly an ANBU member appeared behind Shisui. _

_ “Shisui-san, Danzo-sama would like to speak with you immediately.”  _

_ ‘What could he possibly want?’ Shisui thought, the ANBU agent had interrupted him just as he was about to cast the Kotoamatsukami.  _

_ Disappearing in a shunpo Shisui arrived at an underground temple that Danzo often used for meeting his Foundation members. The sun was slowly setting, casting everything into shadow and painting the area gold.  _

_ “What is it Danzo-sama? The assembly is about to start”  _

_ “Even if you use your genjutsu on Fugaku and the clan to get them to cooperate, what if the village doesn’t change?” _

_ “Hokage-sama has promised to make it change.” Shisui replied surely. _

_ “Even if the Sandaime is satisfied, the distrust amongst the leaf will not go away.” Danzo rebutted. _

_ “I realize that. But in time… “ _

_ “Besides, someone who’s always suspicious like me will never change.” _

_ Danzo lowered his head, “What will you do then?”  _

_ “But Danzo-sama…” _

_ Danzo looked up at stared intently at Shisui, “When the time comes, will you use your Kotoamatsukami on me too?”  _

_ Shisui hesitated, “I’m…”  _

_ “Your Sharingan shall be in my safe keeping!” Danzo interrupted, lunged forwards aiming directly for Shisui’s right eye.  _

_ His hand was caught by Shisui in a harsh and bruising grip.  _

_ Danzo froze, Caught inside a genjutsu, eyes moving rapidly but without coherence and slumping down in Shisui’s grip.  _

_ Shisui stared disapprovingly at Danzo, “It’s just a weak genjutsu, you’ll snap out of it after a while. Don’t get in my way” He said, turning away from Danzo to get back to his self assigned mission.  _

_ Suddenly without warning Shisui took a harsh blow to the stomach, he swiftly shunpoed away before Danzo could make another attempt on his eyes.  _

_ Shisui was stunned, how had Danzo broken out of his genjutsu so fast?  _

_ He coughed as he tried to recover from the gut blow, “What? How?”  _

_ So sure of his imminent victory, Danzo slowly unraveled the bandages covering his right eye, revealing a Sharingan eye just as it faded and became blind.  _

_ ‘A Sharingan?!? How has no one discovered this Kekkei Genkai theft? And was that the Izanami just now?’  _

_ “I will be taking your right eye to replace this one you have cost me.”  _

_ As Danzo spoke several ROOT members appeared in Shunshin wearing signature ANBU cloaks and masks surrounding Shisui. They held out kunai.  _

_ Shisui considered his options briefly, he raised his arm and threw down a smoke bomb, disappearing in his fastest shunpo yet.  _

_ “A teleportation technique? After him! Quickly! Do not let him escape!”  _

  
  


Shisui blocked a slash aimed for his neck by Foundation members in a cat mask. He shunpoed away again to gain distance, trying his best to maintain his lead. A flurry of kunai flew towards him and he deflected them all with his kunai. Landing on a branch he was soon forced to shunpo again as a brace of shuriken thudded into the tree. 

‘ _ This can’t go on! I’ll have to take them out!’  _ Shisui thought desperately as he returned fire with his own kunai. 

Another agent rushed at him, engaging Shisui in a fierce taijutsu match with flashing kunai blades. Shisui unsheathed his tanto in a brief opening of the battle and decapitated the agent who was battling him. An agent wearing a bird mask ambushed him from the left with another kunai, slashing Shisui across his left arm and throwing down a poison bomb as he went. 

In another shunpo Shisui stabbed the bird masked agent through the throat, leaving him choking on his blood as Shisui fled. 

Landing on another branch Shisui stumbled and fell to the forest floor below as his vision wavered and his legs weakened. He felt shaky and began coughing violently. 

_ ‘Shit! I must have inhaled some of that poison! And who knows what exactly was on that kunai blade!’ _

The ROOT agents surrounded him again. The captain gestured to his squad and one by one they all raised kunai with explosive tags tied to them. 

“Aim for the legs, don’t damage anything above the neck.” Came the cold hearted order. His agents nodded, swiftly sending the kunai flying at Shisui from all directions. 

BOOM.

A cloud of dust flew up into the air and settled over the forest.

The Captain gestured to his subordinates, they nodded and separated to search for Shisui’s body parts. 

Suddenly a shower of bright green projectiles thudded into three agents. 

The smoke cleared, revealing a standing Shisui who was engulfed by a giant fiery green humanoid figure in a tengu mask. The figure appeared to have its chest cage opened, ribs on stark display with a bright red Matagama in the middle of its chest. 

Shisui panted as his Susano-o slowly disappeared from existence. Leaving him defenceless once more. 

One of the agents broke off from formation and engaged Shisui as the captain and the last remaining member hung back and started readying a jutsu together.

Unexpectedly the single agent engaging Shisui fell with a kunai through the back of his neck. 

Two fireballs blasted into the remaining ROOT agents, charring them alive not even leaving time to shout. 

“Shisui! Are you okay?!” A worried shout came from the other side of the clearing. 

Naruto and Itachi came running out of the forest towards Shisui, Naruto hurried to support Shisui as he collapsed.

“-Huff- Thanks guys, how did you know I needed help? And sorry for the trouble.” 

“Naruto sensed that your chakra signature was in distress, he found me and then we arrived to see your technique disappear.” Itachi replied as he hovered over Shisui with a basic diagnostic jutsu. 

He frowned in worry, Shisui had been poisoned with a fast acting agent that Itachi doubted anyone aside from Tsunade had the skill to remove. “Shisui you don't have much longer left…” 

Naruto snapped his head towards Itachi, “What? No! We can make it to the hospital in time. Shisui just has to hang in there for a bit longer!” 

Shisui shook his head “We’re going to our spot at the Naka River there’s something I must tell both of you urgently.” He then disappeared in a shunpo. 

Naruto directed a pleading look towards Itachi but Itachi just frowned and shook his head. Minato hardened his eyes and heart, following Shisui with his own Shunpo. 

  
  


The Naka river was truly a spectacular sight in the setting sun, the beautiful pink rays of light played off the tops of the trees surrounding the valley of the Naka river and the water was a beautiful blue that rushed cheerfully along. The river looked like a painting rendered masterfully by a professional artist.

Unfortunately this beautiful sight was lost upon the three Shinobi that had just arrived. 

Naruto and Itachi appeared at the Naka river to a coughing Shisui. Itachi started a basic healing technique on his friend to at least ease the pain. 

Shisui panted as he looked at the two with worried and drawn expressions, he laughed, “Don't make those worried faces at me! I believe in the two of you to carry on for me in my place.” He turned to Naruto, “Naruto, the Uchiha clan has been planning a coup by using the power of the Kyuubi against the village, Itachi and I were assigned a mission to spy on the clan and stop the coup. Of course if internal warfare breaks out in the leaf, our neighboring countries will not hesitate to invade. ” 

Minato gasped, had the treatment of the Uchiha really deteriorated so much that they now considered rebellion? He’d felt the rising tension but he had been in no position to do anything about it. 

While Naruto was contemplating his words Shisui turned to Itachi and continued, “Itachi, the Kotoamatsukami plan has failed, Danzo’s ROOT interfered, he doesn’t trust me and he wants my eyes for himself. He will resort to anything to protect the hidden leaf. They’ll probably be coming for my eyes again.” 

Minato gasped as Itachi stoically watched Shisui remove his own eyes. Holding out a hand to both of them, he told them, “Please, keep my eyes safe. I believe in both of you. Itachi I will be giving you a great power, you’ll need it in the coming days. Please protect Konoha in my stead.” 

Itachi gasped, “Shisui! You can’t”

Shisui patted itachi on the shoulder, “I’m not going to last much longer anyways, take it as my dying wish.” 

Speechless Itachi could only gaze at his friend with a stricken expression on his face. 

Shisui smiled at them blindly, “Come on, even like this I can tell those faces you guys are making. Don't look so worried, Itachi, Naruto, you must always remain calm. Everything will be fine. 

Naruto sadly took the eye in his hand, drawing a seal on his arm with Shisui’s blood and sealing it away immediately. 

Itachi summoned a crow and implanted Shisui’s eye into it, he lowered his head respectfully to Shisui. “I will carry on your will for the Uchiha.” Naruto nodded fervently next to him.

Shisui grasped Itachi on the shoulder again, “From now on, you may be forced to walk down a long, dark path. One that is filled with pain and suffering. I have to apologize…” Shisui grip on Itachi’s shoulder tightened, “That I can’t be there with you through it all. Still. I hope you don’t falter from your path. And keep moving forwards as a leaf ninja. I believe in you. In both of you. That is why I’m able to ask you to carry on my will...” He said turning to Naruto as well.

Naruto had silent tears trailing down his face as Shisui patted his shoulder as well. Itachi grit his teeth tightly. 

Last actions complete Shisui was relieved, he let out a short sigh,

“Don’t stop me.” 

With those final damning words Shisui smiled and stepped backwards off the cliff. Disappearing into the raging waters of the Naka river silently. 

“SHISUI!!!” Naruto and Itachi both shouted, simultaneously reaching for Shisui’s hands. 

Only to fall short by inches. 

  
  
  


Naruto pounded the ground sobbing helplessly, “WHY! Shisui why?”

Itachi watched emotionlessly as Naruto raged , in truth he wanted to rage and sob as well but Naruto was shedding enough tears for the both of them already. 

He suddenly gasped clutching his eyes in pain. They burned! 

Naruto turned to Itachi at the gasp, “Itachi! Your eyes are bleeding!” 

Hurrying over Naruto pried one of Itachi’s eyes open, gasping at what he saw. Itachi’s standard Sharingan with three tomoes had morphed into a tri-bladed shuriken shape. “Your eyes! They’re different!”

Itachi waved Naruto off, wiping the blood off his face as he closed his eyes.

“This is the fourth stage of the Sharingan, it can only be unlocked by extreme emotional pain.” 

Naruto sniffled a bit and calmed himself. 

“So what do we do now?”

“‘We’? There is no ‘we’. This is an Uchiha problem and it shall be solved by an Uchiha, Shisui shouldn’t have told you.” 

“You would have me watch my best friend die in front of me without knowing why?”

Itachi remained silent at the accusation. 

“I will have to cleanse the clan with my own two hands. I will take on this burden by myself and become a missing nin you do not need to worry, Naruto.” 

“What do you mean ‘you don’t need to worry’! It doesn’t have to be this way! We can go to the Sandaime for help! We just have to prove that Danzo is behind this and then we can negotiate with the Uchiha clan!”

“We can’t. There is a third party whom I suspect to be Uchiha Madara manipulating events to destroy Konoha. He promised that he would spare the village and my brother if I slaughtered the clan. This is the only way to protect the peace of the village.”

“What!?! Uchiha Madara?!?”

“You’re too young to understand the whole situation, Naruto it has to be this way.” 

“But the children! They’re innocent!!” Taking a huge gamble Minato tried a different approach “And Itachi, I’m not-“ 

“I’m sorry that it has to be this way, Naruto. Please take care of Sasuke for me.” Interrupted Itachi. Itachi turned his new spinning tri-bladed shuriken eyes onto Naruto, gazing directly into his eyes. 

And Minato knew no more. 

  
  
  


Minato woke up with a start. He looked around him in confusion and stared up at a familiar cracked ceiling. He was in his own apartment? How did he get here? Wasn’t he at the Naka river with - Itachi!! Minato scrambled to sit up, concentrating he cast his senses out as far as they could go, encompassing the entirety of Konoha. He knew he had failed to convince Itachi the moment he hit the Uchiha compound. Where there used to be a large clump of fire natured adults there were now only less than twenty smaller signatures that gave off an aura of grief. 

Minato collapsed back to his bed from the strain of holding the technique. He covered his eyes. He’d failed again. He had failed his precious people again. If only he had pushed to master the Hiraishin sooner than he could have saved Shisui!

He was always too late when it mattered. Too late to save Obito. Too late to save Rin. Too late to stop the Kyuubi from being extracted. For the fastest man in the world he felt slow. Very slow. No more. He wouldn’t allow the guilt and pain to overwhelm him this time. There was no time for moping. He wouldn’t allow this anymore. 

Minato ran out of his apartment towards the hokage tower, the whole village seemed to be in mourning and newspapers with the headline of ‘Uchiha Massacre’ littered the streets. Minato cursed Itachi in his mind, if only he could have explained himself then maybe this wouldn’t have had to happen! Minato grabbed one of the newspapers as he ran, speedily skimming through it. The newspapers declared Itachi to have gone insane due to the pressures upon him as clan heir and slaughtering the clan as a test of power. It had apparently also been several days since Minato had been knocked out. Minato cursed Itachi in his mind again. That explained the empty stomach. 

This time Minato didn’t bother with the secretary at the desk at all, he simply barged into the Kages office with the fury of a thousand raging suns. The old Kage who had started from his paper work extremely dramatically, Minato caught a flash of orange as he did so. His anger reached new levels. The Uchiha were dead and the Sandaime was relaxing by reading  _ his  _ novels. 

Minato snapped out,”Please have your Anbu leave the room I have something important to discuss with you.” 

The Sandaime calmly stared at Naruto, “and who are you to order me to do anything, hm? Naruto?” 

MInato crossed his arms. “As a concerned citizen who is worried about the state of his governing body, I would like to discuss the Uchiha coup.” 

The Sandaime’s eyes widened, he gestured to his ANBU and they left the room. 

“I said all of your ANBU.” Minato said striding over to a darkened corner and staring at it judgingly.

“ANBU! There is a ROOT agent here!” The Sandaime shouted, instantly the agent was taken down and hauled to T&I. 

The Sandaime could only shake his head in disappointment. He’d just disbanded ROOT and Danzo was testing his limits already. 

Naruto wasted no time in taking up a seat in front of the Sandaime and saying, 

“My father would be disappointed in you for how you handled the Uchiha situation.” 

The Sandaime choked. The man couldn’t even begin to count the number of things wrong with that statement. So he started with the most obvious. 

“Your father? I thought you didn’t know who he was? How did you know?” 

Minato just stared at the Sandaime. “Well your reaction just confirmed it, not many blond haired blue eyed men married the last Uzumaki left in Konoha.” He snarkily said. 

The Sandaime deflated, he was too old to deal with this. 

“What do you mean he would be disappointed in me for the Uchiha situation.” 

“DId you even try negotiating with the Uchiha? Did you even give them a chance?” 

“Well Shisui-“

“No! It should not have been left to a teen! It should have been taken care of by responsible adults! There was so much unneeded death! The majority of the clan was innocent in this and yet almost every Uchiha is dead!” 

The Sandaime looked downcast, he sighed, “And what would you have me do Naruto?” 

Minato looked at the Sandaime. He really looked at the man. This was just an old man too tired from his responsibilities and too worn from the wars. The Sandaime was a person too and he was very failable. There needed to be a new hokage, the Sandaime’s days had long passed. If it had been him in the chair he would have done whatever possible to stop the massacre from happening. The Uchiha were a founding clan of Konoha after all, he wouldn’t have let the situation start from the very beginning. 

“I would have you give me my rightful inheritance, I’m going to learn the Hiraishin. I won't let something like this happen ever again.” 

The Sandaime lifted his head, “Of course, speaking of which, how did you know about the Uchiha coup, Naruto?”

Minato paused to choke past a lump in his throat. “Shisui was one of my best friends.” 

“I see I’m sorry for your loss. No. I am sorry for all of Konoha’s loss.” 

“You speak as if it were not your fault old man.” 

“It was on Danzo’s orders that Itachi slaughtered his clan, though talented, I did not expect him to truly be capable of eliminating so many people.” 

“It was still under your jurisdiction that Danzo was able to act with so much freedom, in the end the massacre falls upon your shoulders .” 

Minato then lowered his head in thought, ‘ _ Itachi probably had help from who he expected to be Madara, when will this man leave Konoha alone? How can I deal with him? Should I become a hunter nin or ANBU to search for him?”  _

He looked up at the Sandaime again, “I hope you’ve stripped Danzo of any power he has?”

The Sandaime closed his eyes and nodded gravely, accepting the blame for what it was. “I have disbanded his ROOT force if that is what you are asking.”

“What about his council seat?” 

“Ah… he has too much support for me to be able to force him off the council.”

Minato grew frustrated. The Sandaime was truly weak now, it was little wonder that the Uchiha massacre had happened during his rule. The little trust he had within the Sandaime had withered from this short interaction.

“So will you be going public with your heritage from now on?” 

“No. I need to build up more strength to reveal my heritage and Konoha can’t afford to hold off Iwa just for my sake especially now that the Uchiha are gone. It will honestly be a miracle if we remain unmolested considering the Kyuubi attack and now the loss of the military police.” 

The Sandaime nodded, “I agree. You are indeed wise beyond your years Naruto. Here are the papers for your inheritance, you now own the past Uzumaki compound and Namikaze estates. Where will you be living from now on?” 

“I’ll be living in the Namikaze estate from now on. I need to increase my strength as soon as possible and there are resources available there for me.” 

“Understood.”

“Old man, what’s going to happen to the rest of the remaining Uchiha and how are they doing?” 

“They are relatively fine if not horribly traumatized, there are fifteen survivors of which the oldest is Uchiha Izumi at thirteen and the youngest, Uchiha Haruka at two months. They will be left to their own devices as the oldest surviving Uchiha, should be able to adequately corral them. Uchiha Sasuke will become clan head when he becomes of age or attains the rank of Chuunin.”

“What? Just like that? No adult supervision whatsoever? The whole clan left to a child?”

“Many people are looking to gain power by affiliating themselves with the Uchiha at this time, no one is fit to take care of them fully.” 

Minato facepalmed, this was the same situation that he himself had been a part of. At the very least the Uchiha wouldn’t be alone like he had been. He would have to check up on them at some point and see if he could help in anyway. Hopefully the village would be sympathetic to their plight as well. Minato would have to do his best to look after Sasuke, he had known how much Itachi loved him after all. And Minato was someone who honored last requests. Unlike a certain village. 


	11. School Days

“Wait old man.”

“What else is it Naruto?” Sighed the old man, prepared for another earth shattering revelation, perhaps the boy already knew about the Kyuubi? Perhaps he would say he was even friends with it? 

“I need you to sign me up for the Shinobi academy.” 

“Oh.” The Sandaime let out a breath of relief. “You’ve been practically signed up since you were born, Naruto.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“On account of who your parents were, of course, no other reason…” 

Minato squinted at the Sandaime, had the man always been such a terrible liar before? Or was it just with children? 

“Okay then…” Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly before saying, “Well, see you old man, I'll be moving into the Namikaze estate now, except I’ll still be renting out the apartment so that people don’t know where I actually live.”

“Ah, a wise choice Naruto, may your move go well.” 

Naruto nodded, then he bowed and excused himself from the office, leaving the Sandaime to contemplate his earlier harsh words.

He hurried back the way he came, rushing from the hokage tower back to his apartment. He bought a few fruits from a friendly vendor to eat along the way, starving after a few days of unconsciousness.

He had a lot to do to set up his home in the Namikaze estate. He couldn’t afford to let anyone know that he was living somewhere else but with his inheritance supporting him now he would be able to continue to rent his tiny apartment as a decoy for anyone that tried to cause him harm. 

Forming a few shadow clones to carry his few meager possessions from his apartment to his old home, Minato sneakily moved into the Namikaze estate. 

As he moved in, Minato went around the estate (which was really just a larger than average house on the outskirts of the village) refreshing and updating the various protection seals that had been maintaining the house. Some of the seals he lingered over simply because they were either Kushina’s work or a seal that had been the result of them working together.

In fact just walking through the home was heartbreaking, there was evidence of Kushina scattered everywhere, in the sealing supplies left out waiting to be used, the recipe books scattered across the bookshelves, and the photos. Minato may have had plenty of time to grieve but looking at the photos on the walls was like prodding an old wound. The photos made Minato want to cry just seeing her vibrant smile. But Minato had cried enough already for his wife, it was time to move on, and studiously ignore the baby room that was fully equipped and painted in a soft blue. 

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to move back? 

No. The estate afforded a privacy like no other location and it had the sealing resources of the combined genius of an Uzumaki and Namikaze working together. Minato would be raiding their personal library as soon as he had gotten something more substantial to eat. 

Making some instant ramen for nostalgia's sake Minato was lost in thought about what he should do in the coming years. 

He would have to suffer through learning things he already knew and deal with his very own Genin team. He’d also have a problem with making friends. He wouldn’t have very many friends of his physical age due to his own reservations or the prejudices of the children’s parents. His friends that were his mental age simply thought that he was dead, Minato couldn’t say that he didn’t miss Shikaku’s dry humor, Inoichi’s helpful personality, Choza’s ever present kindness, Tsume’s fire, Shibi’s cool logic, and Hiashi and Hizashi’s amusing interplay. 

Minato would just have to do his best in befriending their children. 

He sighed. Children... 

Dealing with Shisui and Itachi was refreshing because they were mature in their own ways and respected his opinions without ever looking down on him for his age. But now both were gone, one was dead and the other a missing nin.

Refusing to dwell on what had passed, Minato simply looked to the future.

Minato resolved himself. He would have to work hard to become a Hunter nin, and then from there become Kage. As a hunter nin he could embody the ideal of protecting Konoha from the darkness just like Shisui envisioned. It would also allow him a certain measure of freedom. He had tracking experience from teaching Kakashi and with his enhanced senses from the Kyuubi he could become the perfect Hunter nin. He would be able to hunt down the Masked Man/Madara and eventually return Itachi to his rightful home. 

Raising the privacy wards in his backyard training ground Minato trained his taijutsu and worked on incorporating elements of Shisui’s after image clones into his new style as a homage. Though training by himself after so long with Itachi and Shisui felt slightly lonely. There was only so much sparring you could do with your own shadow clones after all. 

Minato also needed to train his Hiraishin, he could already hypothetically perform it, he just lacked the precision to teleport to an exact location around one of his marker kunai. So he practiced. Thankfully since the Kunai were DNA locked he could still use them as Naruto as long as he added his blood to the separate master key formula for the seal markers. Otherwise he would have had to create a new sealing formula and key to be able to perform the Hiraishin again. Reusing his old formula meant that he wouldn’t have to reapply many of his old Hiraishin markers scattered around Konoha. 

This was where all of his control training would pay off. Minato practiced teleporting exactly ten inches to the left from a kunai until he could manage it consistently and accurately, then practiced twenty inches to the right. And so on and so forth. Until Minato could teleport to a location in the air above the kunai and land on a dot. He then spent some time practicing applying the Hiraishin marker to different objects. The application worked by using precise amounts of chakra to burn a seal into a certain location. His control had to be refined to the point where he could apply seals through his feet which was the most difficult part of the body to channel chakra to. 

After his training and a quick dinner of more ramen at Ichiraku's for the sake of nostalgia once more. Minato went to check up on the Uchiha children, they were recovering slowly, the villagers were treating them with kindness and compassion. Izumi, ignoring her puffy red eyes, seemed to be managing well with the help of her Chuunin teammates. The children seemed relatively calm except for a teary eye every so often, the only one missing in the group of children milling about together was Sasuke. Casting his senses out Minato found the boy in a deserted training grounds. 

Minato decided to first introduce himself to Izumi who was holding Haruka and see if she needed any help, 

“Hello Uchiha-san, My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I came by because I was a friend of Shisui’s. I wanted to see if you needed any help managing everything.” 

Izumi turned to him and perked up a little bit, “Oh a friend of Shisui’s huh? Glad to have you here. Thank you for your offer, but everyone in the village has been so kind that there has almost been a little too much help.” She laughed weakly. 

Minato nodded in understanding, this was the Konoha he knew and loved, big hearted citizens helping each other out of the goodness of their hearts. Well at least Minato hoped it was mostly out of the goodness of their hearts and not with ulterior motives… He hadn't been able to monitor the emotions around those helping the Uchiha just yet. 

“Of course Uchiha-san, If I may, where exactly is Sasuke and why isn’t he with the rest of the children?” 

Izumi placed a hand on her chin in thought, “Oh Sasuke-kun huh? He’s currently in one of the training grounds I think… The other children would rather mourn for now but I think he’s just venting a little differently.” 

Minato nodded again, “Okay thank you very much Uchiha-san, please let me know if there is any way I can help out.”

“Of course thank you for visiting.” She said as she waved him off. 

Minato wandered off to where feelings of anger and desperation were coming from. Sasuke was practicing throwing kunai. He threw furiously, kunai thudding messily into his targets. Then he leapt into the air, taking out eight kunai and throwing them in separate directions at the same time.

Minato realized he was trying to perform the kunai technique that Shisui had showed Minato once. Except when Sasuke attempted it he missed the very last target. The boy was too riled up for the technique which required calm calculated precision. 

“Loosen your wrist, you can’t curve the kunai correctly if you're too tense.” 

Sasuke turned towards Naruto in shock, “You! What are you doing here!?!” 

Naruto raised his hands to pacify Sasuke, “I came to check up on the survivors and see how they were doing, see if I could help out in any way.”

“You? What could a clanless orphan like you do to help us?”

“Well it was just an offer, I could help train with you, you know? And why are you training out here by yourself?”

“I’m going to kill  _ him.”  _

Minato’s expression sombered. Well that was new. Not entirely unexpected considering the circumstances, but Itachi must have done something to get Sasuke to hate him so much without having Sasuke questioning the circumstances surrounding the massacre. 

The Sasuke that Minato remembered adored his older brother. He’d often interrupted training sessions by shouting for his brother and then barging in dramatically. There was one memorable incident where Sasuke had ambushed Naruto out of jealousy only to be taken down and flipped onto his back in the blink of an eye. 

Minato wouldn’t ask why Sasuke hated Itachi but he couldn’t tell him the truth either. It would most likely direct Sasuke's hatred toward Konoha and Itachi wouldn’t want that of his brother. 

“Well if you’re looking to take down Itachi wouldn't training with someone who knew Itachi be a good idea? After all…” 

Minato took up sasuke's spot in the middle of the clearing. He jumped in the air and let his own kunai fly from his hands. Each kunai finding its spot in a target, including the very last target in Minato’s blind spot. 

Sasuke just glowered at Naruto. Refusing to acknowledge that he’d been shown up by him. 

Naruto just sighed and patted Sasuke's shoulder accepting that he would get no acknowledgement from the boy. 

“If you ever need a training partner or even someone to talk to I will always be available...” 

Sasuke snorted, turning away from Naruto in disdain. “What would you know…” he muttered under his breath.

Naruto only smiled wryly, “More than you would think…” 

  
  


Several days passed and soon it was the beginning of the new academic year. Minato resolved himself to perform just slightly above average since he already knew what it was like to stand out as a prodigy. It intimidated other students and made making friends rather difficult. This time he would use his time at the academy to cultivate bonds between the new generation instead of trying to graduate as soon as possible. It was his relationships with other ninja that gave him enough clout to make hokage after all. Orochimaru, his rival for the position of Yondaime, was passed over in favor of Minato because Minato was a much more approachable figure. 

Parents and children flocked together towards the gates of the academy. Laughing and discussing the first day of the academy cheerfully. Minato watched from a distance, studiously avoiding the longing he could feel building in his chest. He ignored the pointing and whispers asking ‘what the demon child was doing here?’ As he walked towards the entrance. Minato picked up the pace, practically running inside the academy to avoid the stares and whispers. He could feel the building hostility and he wanted to avoid another mob incident. Thank you very much! 

The children lined up outside for the entrance ceremony, the hokage appeared to give his customary speech to the academy children and impart upon them of the wisdoms of the will of fire. Mianto didn’t know if he believed in the will of fire very much anymore but Shisui believed in Naruto so Minato would do his best to live up to Shisui’s ideals. (Needs refining) Minato zoned out as the old Kage rambled, he’d heard it all once before and the speech hadn’t changed much since, perhaps edited to reflect post-war sentiments but not very different at all. 

Soon enough the students were sorted into their classes and Minato was carted off into a class with an Iruka-Sensei and Mizuki-Sensei. He held in a sigh as the moment he heard his name called for the class, there was a wave of negative emotion that rippled through the surrounding area. 

The worst of the offenders were probably his two new teachers, he felt an extreme resentment from the both of them as he walked over to the lineup of children standing in front of them. 

Iruka awkwardly coughed while Mizuki grimaced as the last of the children were sorted in and said, “Alright children! Please follow me to our new classroom for the next four years!” 

The children filed in after the teachers like ducklings, but as Naruto passed Mizuki into the classroom Mizuki sneered at him and made as if to trip him. Minato was taken aback by the childish gesture undeserving of a teacher. He easily dodged the attempt and walked past Mizuki into the room without incident. 

Thus marked Minato’s foray into shinobi academia for the second time around. 

  
  


“Naruto!” Iruka barked. 

Minato started up from his notes. “Yes!”

“Name the hokage and a technique they were known for!”

“The Shodaime Senju Hashirama, a user of mokuton ninjutsu, signature technique Jukai Koton. Nidaime Senju Tobirama, a genius of jutsu creation and water ninjutsu, shadow clone technique. Sandaime Sarutobi Hiruzen, user of all elemental techniques, summoning contract of the monkeys. Yondaime Namikaze Minato, fuinjutsu user. Hiraishin!” 

“Good! Thank you, sit down.”

Minato let out a breath and sat. 

Classes were slow for him. He actually spent his time by bringing in materials for sealing instead of paying attention to classes. Or he simply sent a shadow clone to school instead while he trained the day away. 

Unknown to him it greatly intimidated the students and teachers when he would furiously scribble down notes when nothing significant had been said in class. 

Still. Minato and his clones did their best to make friends. He put on his best approachable face and was kind to the children. He was quiet, calm, and did his best to help his classmates when they were struggling with understanding concepts. 

Slowly but surely his classmates began to warm up to him. The first to approach him were the clan children who hadn’t been exposed to the rumors surrounding the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

Nara Shikamaru was the one who first started the trend of going to Naruto with any random questions because it usually seemed like Naruto had the answers to everything, The whiskered blond was always so mature that Shikamaru couldn’t help but gravitate to someone who could think on a similar wavelength to him.

Choji just went along with his best friend and found that Naruto was a very kind soul who never had anything to say about his large stature. 

Ino didn’t really know what to make of Naruto, the boy was quiet and seemed to blend into the background most of the time. There was also an air of maturity around him that seemed attractive and mysterious at the same time. She often whispered about him and Sasuke with her best friend Sakura, but Sakura always seemed strangely leery of the blond boy. 

Shino was similar to Shikamaru in that he found Naruto’s calm nature very appealing and Naruto never seemed to mind if his bugs fed off his chakra. There was also something interesting about Naruto’s chakra that Shinzo hadn’t encountered in anyone else before. Naruto’s chakra was unusually warm, dense, and uniquely appealing to Shino’s kikaichu. 

Hinata found a new role model and crush in Naruto, he was quietly determined and naturally talented in many aspects of shinobi training and he treated her with a respect that she was hard pressed to find in her own home. One time he had even helped her out of a rather sticky situation with a few bullies as well! He had calmly informed them of their wrong doing it and threatened to call over a teacher with a bravery she wished she could emulate. 

Kiba found a rival in Naruto as many of the other children simply couldn’t keep up with his exuberance and energy. In fact there were many times Naruto would outlast Kiba entirely when they competed in stamina and endurance. He was the only one who would even take up Kiba challenges to race as well. 

Sasuke found a rival in Naruto as well, it seemed that the other shinobi children were far below him and the only one who could keep up with his grades was Naruto. Shikamaru and Choji never tried in class, Sakura was only good for book smarts, Ino didn’t care, Shino and Hinata were solidly average, and Kiba was the class dobe. Sasuke fought to excel and yet Naruto was always there, seemingly effortlessly achieving grades that were just one step behind Sasuke’s. It frustrated Sasuke to no end. 

Minato found that making friends with the clan children was a bit like becoming friends with younger versions of their parents again. His days were filled with nostalgia, but he also started to realize just how much the academy had changed since war times. 

There was now a greater focus on flashy Justus instead of overall improvement of Shinobi skill sets, as well as a distinct focus on history and paper ninja work. Standards had changed a lot to fit peacetime needs. There was greater focus on customer relations during missions and not so much on skills needed to survive those missions. It bothered Minato that some essential survival skills had been skipped in favor of diplomacy lessons. It seemed that the lesson plans had been altered to include more civilian shinobi, while it was good for increasing the ranks it would lead to an overall drop in the quality of ninja produced. 

It was a dilemma Minato pondered over for several days. If he were Hokage he would have tried increasing the graduation age so that the young ninja could learn more and be better prepared for the future as well as increase recruitment efforts like the Sandaime. But what could he do to remedy the situation in the state he was in now? 

Unfortunately not all was smooth sailing for Minato in classes either. Unlike Iruka who had slowly warmed up to Naruto, Mizuki would do his best to call Naruto out and try to make him fail. He would randomly quiz Naruto at inopportune moments as well as save the most difficult questions for him. Tests given to him had genjutsu cast on them to show the wrong questions. When teaching students how to perform the leaf sticking exercise he sent pulses of chakra through Naruto trying to disrupt his chakra flow. Mizuki would also try his best to teach Naruto the wrong information. Minato was given incorrect taijutsu forms to study and the wrong hand signs to the clone jutsu. Minato as a fully grown adult was disgusted by this behavior. The man was actively sabotaging his education and setting him up for failure. He did his best not to react in class but thoroughly paid Mizuki back. 

Day after day strange things happened to Mizuki. He once stumbled into class completely coated in purple paint, setting off a loud round of laughter amongst the students. A student kept leaving whoopee cushions on the chairs that Mizuki happened to sit in. One time Mizuki discovered that the chair he was sitting in had a patch of glue on it which stuck him to the chair for several hours. His papers would go missing only to be found hours after they would have been needed. In fact many unfortunate incidents seemed to happen to Mizuki but it was all chalked up to unexplained bad luck. 

Minato also kept an eye out for Sasuke just like Itachi asked. He’d often check in on the child and see what he was doing. Sasuke didn’t appear to do much besides brood, train, eat, and sleep. He would often brush off the attempts of Izumi to make him open up to their family and would ignore many of the younger Uchiha children, too wrapped up in his own mind to pay any attention to them.

One day Minato got sick of watching Sasuke train and brood at a darkened training ground and decided to ask him something that had been bothering him. 

“What did Itachi do to you that night?”

Sasuke jumped and turned towards Naruto in shock, he looked Naruto up and down suspiciously and then crossed his arms defensively. “Why should I tell you!?!”

“Because maybe I can help you with what you're dealing with.”

“You wouldn’t understand anything! What could you help with? I don't even need your help!” 

“Look at it this way. You know I was one of Itachi’s closest friends.”

Sasuke scowled at the stated fact and turned to start walking away from Naruto. 

Desperate Minato tried a different angle on Sasuke. “I tried to stop itachi from committing the massacre, he put me under a genjutsu and I woke up after the massacre happened.”

Sasuke rounded on Naruto in shock. 

“WHAT?! You tried to stop him? You knew he would do this???”

“I didn’t know he would do this but I did try to have him spare the children.”

“Why did he tell you? What did he tell you!?”

“First tell me what he did to you that night. Then I’ll tell you.” 

Sasuke hesitated. His furious expression crumpled and he seemed to shrink into himself. He mumbled under his breath. “He put me into a genjutsu, and h-he showed me. He showed me himself killing my family over and over again. He told me I was too weak and hated too little to consider killing. He told me to seek him out once I gained the same eyes as him.”

Minato stood in thought as he considered Itachi's words and actions. It appeared that Itachi wanted his brother to kill him to avenge his family so that it was an indirect form of atonement. It was a highly inconsiderate plan that had not thought of Sasuke’s happiness. This would turn Sasuke into an avenger, blind to all else. 

“You’re going to burn yourself out like this you know? This single minded training hurts you more than it helps...”

Sasuke grew incensed at the accusation. “How would you know?! You don't know anything!”

Minato raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “Well why don’t you try me?”

Sasuke stomped his foot angrily, “What could you know of the pain of losing everything!?!”

Minato crossed his arms huffily, “More than you would know. I’m an orphan, remember? And you haven’t lost everything either.” 

“But you never knew them! You’ve been alone from the start! I know that! You don’t know what loss is like! And I don't need you! I don't need them!”

Minato took a deep breath. That comment hit a nerve. He took another breath.  _ ‘Minato. Don't get angry at the child.’ _ He told himself. 

“Perhaps. But you still have something to lose, don't you? Why won't you cherish the family you have remaining?” 

“They don’t understand me! They know nothing of what this is like! They weren’t brothers of a murderer!” 

“Ah, but they were family with him were they not? Why can't they understand?” 

“They dont hate enough! They are weak and have abandoned the path of a Shinobi! They fear him too much! Or are simply too young to understand!”

“Is it truly weakness to move on from the pain and rebuild? Isn’t that just a different definition of strength?” 

“But he’ll be back one day! Rebuilding now is pointless!”

“Will he? He told you to seek him out, didn't he? Why would he return if he told you to find him?” 

“To finish the job!”

“Then why did he let you go in the first place?”

“Because we were weak and worthless in his eyes!”

`

“So then why train if strength is what made him kill the clan? And on that note, why didn’t he target stronger members of the village? Such as the Hokage? I’m sure that the elders and civilians couldn’t have been very strong.” 

Sasuke paused, his eyes sharpened on Naruto. “You. You know something. What do you know?!?!”

“I don't know anything.” Minato lied, “I just have the facts and they don't add up. Why would he kill weak civilians to test his strength? Why would he tell you to grow strong and hunt him down? Why did he commit the massacre? He didn’t tell me much the night he knocked me out, just that he was considering removing the corruption of the Uchiha clan. Perhaps you should ask why first?” He put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and subtly disturbed Sasuke’s chakra flow, just enough for a weak Kai. 

Sasuke thought. And he thought. And he thought. The more that he thought the more that Itachi’s actions didn’t make any sense. Why would itachi kill the civilian members of the Uchiha clan? Why would he leave only the children alive? And while Sasuke had often asked himself why Itachi had killed the clan, he’d always taken the answer that Itachi had given him at face value. What did he mean by the corruption of the Uchiha clan as well? There were too many answers he wouldn’t be able to receive if Itachi were dead. 

Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, “You might be right, there’s a lot that was strange that night.” He took a step back away from Naruto “I don't know what it all means. But I’ll figure it out.” Sasuke then turned and started walking away from the training grounds back to the Uchiha compounds, which now seemed much larger than it used to be with only 15 survivors. 

Minato could only watch him go, assessing his emotions and finding a measure of confusion and clarity breaking through the constant anger that had surrounded Sasuke. 

The next day in class Sasuke appeared to have a rather dazed look about him. He also seemed rather out of it and still deep in thought. 

Minato would have been worried about him if he had not felt the increased calmness that Sasuke now carried with him now that he was not still affected by the remnants of Itachi’s genjutsu. 

“Naruto! Please come up to the front of the class and demonstrate the Clone jutsu.” Iruka called out. 

Minato couldn’t perform the Bunshin but with Mizuki standing in the corner he had no desire to fail this small demonstration. He formed a half ram seal and performed the shadow clone Justu without anyone noticing the difference. 

“Thank you very much Naruto, please sit down and see me after class.” 

Minato went and sat. He couldn’t help but wonder what Iruka wanted. Recently he had been treating him rather kindly compared to when the school year had first started. The man had really warmed up to him the longer he participated in classes. There was now a fondness in the man's eyes whenever he looked at Naruto compared to before when there was a cold hatred. 

It was a slow day and Naruto made very little progress in his research on Uzumaki sealing methods to help improve his Hiraishin. 

When classes ended Naruto obediently waited until everyone had left the room to approach Iruka and see what he wanted. 

“Ah Naruto, I just wanted to tell you you are one of my most exceptional students and I am extremely proud of you. If it weren’t for the Sandaime’s new age restriction on the graduation age I would have recommended you and Sasuke for early graduation already.”

Minato was touched that someone would treat him fairly even when they were still dealing with some lingering subconscious dislike, it made Iruka rise on his list of good people which was inhabited by the Ichirakus, Shisui, Itachi, that one vegetable grocer, and Tsume. “Thank you very much Sensei, but even if you had recommended me I wouldn’t have taken it.”

Iruka was surprised by the answer. “Oh? And why is that Naruto?”

Minato smiled and cheerfully replied, “I would be leaving my friends behind! If I ever wanted to become Hokage, then the bonds that I form at the academy are especially important as I plan on going into the Hunter nin track where connections can be difficult to make. I am also currently in a class full of clan heirs, there’s friends to be made if you understand me, Sensei.” 

Slightly taken aback by Naruto’s reply Iruka said, “O-oh, of course… Has anyone ever told you, you are very mature for your age Naruto-kun?”

“Ahahah, I get that a lot….” Minato said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. 

“Anyways, what I wanted to ask you, do you want to go out for food together sometime, I feel like I haven’t been very fair to you before...” Iruka asked, smiling kindly. 

Minato smiled softly, the man was really trying to see him as a child and not a Jinchuuriki. “Of course Iruka-Sensei, ramen?” 

“Ah, sure! I love ramen, how did you know?” 

Minato shrugged his shoulders happily, “I like ramen a lot too Sensei.” 

  
  



	12. Slow Days

“Why are we doing this again, Naruto?” Drawled Shikamaru.

It was a sunny afternoon when classes were over, Minato had decided to set up an after school study group with a few of his friends to catch up on some ninja skills that were no longer being taught in the academy. Sakura had heard from Ino and had tagged along as well. 

“Because the academy isn’t teaching us enough, so we have to take matters into our own hands or our Jounin Senseis will have a lot more work to do.” Naruto replied from the top of the tree he inhabited. 

Shikamaru flopped on the ground and sighed, “But it's so troublesome to do this now instead of later.” 

“You’ll be too busy thanking me later when your Jounin Sensei finds out you can tree walk and decides to teach you a new technique instead.” Minato retorted. 

Shikamaru sighed again and stood up, lazily walking over to the tree in front of him and placing a foot on it. He let his foot slip down the side of the tree as if to mock Naruto’s earlier explanation. 

Minato just stared dully down at Shikamaru, “You’re not putting in enough chakra to your foot Shikamaru.” 

Meanwhile Kiba who had been running headlong against the side of the tree exploded off the in a shower of bark, flying backwards into Sasuke who had been waiting for his turn on the tree. 

Turning towards the fallen boys Minato remarked, “Ah. That's too much chakra, Kiba.” 

Shino who was in the middle of his tree paused to push up his glasses as he slowly slid down the side. 

Hinata had made it successfully to a branch near the top third of the tree and was tentatively trying to go higher. 

Ino and Sakura sat together at the very top of the tree laughing at the attempts of Kiba and Choji as they exploded off again and again, while cheering on a fuming Sasuke. 

Sasuke, meanwhile, had slightly more success compared to Choji and Kiba but was falling behind Shino in progress. 

“Say Naruto, how do you even know about needing to learn tree walking?” Asked Ino curiously. 

Minato scratched his head, it had been a basic requirement in class several years ago. “Ah, it was in the lesson plans for the academy several years ago and it's a basic chakra control exercise that improves your jutsu usage.” 

Sasuke perked up at the last portion and charged up his tree in renewed determination.

Shikamaru had slowly ambled up to the lowest branch and plopped himself down upon it, opting to take a nap instead of trying to go higher. 

Minato sweat dropped, Shikaku had done the exact same thing when he had tried to learn tree walking as well. 

Hinata had finally made it to the same branch as Naruto and weakly stuttered out “N-Naruto-kun. I-I finally m-made it!”

“Aah. Congratulations Hinata. You did it!” 

Hinata's face reddened and she weakly clutched the trunk of the tree as she swayed on the branch. 

Minato smiled softly at the girl, she was improving quickly. He was well aware of her feelings but he was sure that in time, her small crush would surely fade. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready for a relationship again.

Meanwhile Kiba was still charging ahead with a reckless abandon, racing Sasuke to the top of the tree and slashing at the the heights he reached with his sharp claws, leaving a mark to surpass the next time around. Sasuke had seen and copied him with a kunai, his marks just ever so slightly higher than Kiba’s. 

Shino had finally reached the higher branches and looked rather satisfied with his slow and steady progress. He had walked, taking one step at a time, as opposed to the wild charging of Sasuke, Kiba, and Choji. 

Minato viewed their progress with a pleased smile, he was glad that the children had gone along with his plan in the first place. It had been a bit of a battle convincing them that they needed extra lessons, he didn’t want them to die on their first C-ranks after all. 

“You know you should really continue tree walking to build up your chakra reserves…” He said to Sakura and Ino, who were giggling as Kiba tumbled back to the ground in a heap.

“Ehhh... but that's so much effort” Ino whined in response.

Naruto hardened his eyes, “You can't complain when you're dead so just go and do it.” 

Ino narrowed her eyes at the boy and began swinging her legs on the branch, “Who gave you the right to tell us what to do? We learned your stupid tree walking already!” Sakura nodded vigorously besides her friend, sticking her tongue out at Naruto. 

Naruto sighed, there wasn’t much he could do to force the girls to train after all. They simply enjoyed cheering on Sasuke more than training after all. It wouldn’t do out in the field but he knew whatever he had to say would be simply dismissed by the girls. So he let them be, only hoping that their Jounin-senseis would straighten out their attitudes. He returned to shouting advice down at the struggling trio and relaxed against the tree he was leaning on. 

By the time the sun was setting most of the children could reliably make it more than two thirds of the way up the trees. 

Many of the children’s parents/guardians who had come to pick up their children had stayed to watch them train for a little while longer. 

Inoichi was eventually able to bribe Ino and Sakura into continuing to run for the sake of a shopping trip. Shikaku had to threaten Shikamaru into continuing or else his mother would hear. Choza merely cheered his son on encouragingly while Tsume mocked her child for not making it very far up the tree. Shibi patted Shino on the shoulder for his successes and Ko who had arrived for Hinata was frowning mildly. Even Izumi eventually arrived for Sasuke and congratulated him warmly on his attempts, but she was coldly brushed off by Sasuke. 

Minato watched the scene with sad eyes. It upset him how sasuke was treating Izumi and the remaining Uchihas but he had to heal in his own way as well. 

The children waved goodbye as a few of the parents thanked Naruto for the additional lessons. Shikaku stared at Naruto for an exceedingly long time as they left. 

The very next day at the academy was a taijutsu class meant Minato couldn’t send a shadow clone, so he went himself. During taijutsu he usually maintained a 6:4 win loss ratio to make his placements just slightly above average, but sasuke had been looking at him slightly suspiciously recently, no doubt wondering why he lost on purpose at times when he could rival Itachi and Shisui. 

“Alright class! Today we’ll be sparring with the teachers again!” Ignoring the round of groans He just set off Iruka simply clapped his hands and the class set off into lines to get beaten around for ten minutes. 

Meanwhile in the Sandaime’s office. The Sandaime was observing the class’s fights with his crystal ball as two jounin argued in the background, the rest of the Jounin in the office awkwardly standing around. They were bickering furiously over team placements as the Sandaime held his head in exasperation. 

“I should have him!”

“No I should!”

“I can teach him well!”

“So can I!

No you can’t! You couldn’t even get here on time and you want to take care of children?”

“He wants to be a hunter nin! I can teach him tracking!”

“Well I’m making a tracking team with Shino and Hinata I should have him! You’re making a heavy assault team! Kiba would fit perfectly in with Sasuke!”

“No he wouldn’t. Haven’t you read their personality reports? They practically hate each other! You can take Kiba! He has a good enough nose for tracking!”

“Then they would make good rivals! And I can hone Naruto’s sensory skills!” 

“But I want to teach my sensei’s son!”

The Sandaime finally put his foot down.

“Enough.”

Kakashi and Kurenai instantly quieted and stood still, awaiting the Sandaime’s verdict. 

“He is aware of his heritage so I believe that Kakashi should take him, Kurenai if you are really interested in developing the boys sensory skills you should wait until the teams swap Jounin senseis for a day to do so.”

Both jounin nodded and backed down, Kakashi shooting a smug look over at Kurenai as she scowled at him and pouted. 

The rest of the jounin in the room were simply relieved that the hours long argument had finally ended. Kakashi and Kurenai truthfully just didn’t want the class dobe, Kiba, to be on their teams. They had ended up in a sort of ping pong match that ran in circles until the Sandaime got sick of it. 

They turned back to the crystal ball where Iruka was currently facing off against Naruto.

The boy was practically running circles around the man, taking advantage of his small size and superior speed to dart in and out of Iruka’s guard and land heavy punches. Iruka was busy being kept off balance by the variety of blows that Naruto was landing and didn’t notice as he approached the edge of the ring. Naruto slid under Iruka’s legs and one final small shove from Naruto and Iruka toppled over and out of the sparring ring. 

Kakashi couldn't hide the smug grin that bloomed across his face as he watched his sensei’s son take down a man twice his size. The prospects of teaching his new student was looking bright, the boy was startlingly similar to his father. He had an uncanny intelligence, was naturally talented and a born leader. It hurt to look at him sometimes but Kakashi would persevere. For the sake of his Sensei. 

Kakashi felt guilty that he couldn’t always be there for his sensei’s son but he had been the one to take all of the guard shifts Naruto needed when he was a baby. That one stormy night with the girl with the pillow he felt a protective surge of anger like none other before. The closest thing he could compare it to was when he was faced with Rin’s second capture. He’d also stopped more than one assasination attempt when Naruto was an infant.

As the boy grew Kakashi slowly lost track of him, getting too busy with additional ANBU missions that he was required to take to show Konoha was still strong. Until it all culminated into a worryingly long five month search in which the boy had seemingly disappeared. 

He had been too scared to get too close to Naruto in fear of revealing him to his father's enemies. And then he had been too scared to get too close lest he ruin the one good thing his Sensei left behind. At least Naruto seemed to be doing well, seemed to be happy. He might have been alone but Naruto‘s smile still managed to survive. 

Kurenai meanwhile frowned and watched despondently as Kiba charged Mizuki blindly over and over, being deflected to the side each time he pounced at the silver haired man.

At the very least he was adept in his clan techniques but he had little to no battle plan aside from bum rush the enemy. She would train that out of him as soon as possible. 

Kiba who had started charging Mizuki again, felt an unexplained chill go down his spine.

  
  


As classes were ending for the day Sasuke stalked up to Naruto, hands in his pockets.

“Naruto. Fight me.” he growled out.

He’d had a much more difficult fight with Iruka, eventually he had managed to pressure Iruka out of the sparring ring but it was after much more effort compared to Naruto’s fight. He didn’t want to believe that Naruto was that much above him. The loser always hid his real skills in front of any adults and Sasuke wanted to see the true extent of Naruto’s strength. 

He didn’t count the time he ambushed Naruto as a loss since his pride couldn’t take it. 

Minato turned to look at Sasuke, confused. “Huh? Right now? You want to spar right here, right now?” He gestured around him to the crowded classroom that they were standing in. 

Sasuke grunted and tilted his head for Naruto to follow him. Naruto shrugged and turned to follow Sasuke. Classmates elbowed each other seeing the two walk outside, running along to follow. Naruto was led to a clearing in the forest behind the academy. Soon enough they acquired a small crowd of children egging each of them on as they stood and faced off against each other. 

“Go Sasuke-kun! Kick his butt!”

“Naruto you can beat this asshole!”

Were the various shouts around the clearing. 

Sasuke huffed a breath and took his hands out of his pockets. 

“Now. Fight me.” Sasuke said, settling into the Uchiha interceptor stance. 

Minato sighed and took his own fighting stance, he could be considered something of an expert versus the Uchiha clan taijutsu style from constantly sparring with Shisui and Itachi. Seeing the amateurish form of Sasuke’s made him want to snap out adjustments. He formed the seal of confrontation with his right hand. Sasuke grumpily returned the gesture and promptly charged Naruto. 

He swung out with a punch from his right, Minato brushed the blow off to the side throwing a kick at Saukes legs. Sasuke blocked the kick only to be swept off his feet by a spinning sweep from Naruto. He swiftly rolled back up to his feet and aimed a high kick at Naruto’s head. Naruto ducked under the kick and pushed Sasuke off balance again by ducking behind Sasuke. Scrambling to his feet again Sasuke threw a series of punches directed at different vital points at Naruto. Minato assessed him calmly and dodged each punch fluidly weaving around the blows like water. 

Sasuke was becoming enraged, it felt like Naruto wasn’t taking him seriously enough with that calm expression. Their whole fight Naruto’s expression hadn’t wavered in the slightest. 

“Take me seriously, damn you!” He yelled, losing his patience and rushing at Naruto again with a renewed vigor. 

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. He sidestepped the messy engagement and tripped Sasuke with a well placed foot. 

Sasuke rolled and scrambled to his feet. Huffing in rage and jumping away from Naruto he quickly began forming hand signs. 

Minato recognized the hand signs and his eyes widened. If he dodged the ensuing Great Fireball - something he was surprised that sasuke even knew - it would hit the unprepared children standing behind him. 

In the blink of an eye and a shunpo, Naruto was suddenly behind Sasuke, knocking him out with a chop to the back of his neck. 

“Alright everyone fights over…” He said awkwardly to the spectators who were still stunned by his speed. 

Instantly a burst of cheers rang out as the boys converged on Naruto congratulating Naruto for beating the class prince. The girls squealed and rushed over to tend to Sasuke but were quickly shooed off by an exasperated Naruto. The boy quickly dispersed the crowd, promising to take care of Sasuke once he woke up, maneuvering the boy so that he was leaned up against a tree. 

Soon enough the boy began stirring awake, Minato had ensured that he hadn't hit  _ that _ hard after all. 

Minato observed the slowly waking Sasuke and said,

“Ah you can come out now.” 

A small ‘eep’ rang out and Izumi awkwardly walked out from behind a tree. She laughed hesitantly, “Sasuke-kun you did really well there! I saw that punch combo it was very well executed! And well… I’m here to pick you up!” 

Blinking his eyes open Sasuke looked around the clearing for a bit. He first glared at Naruto, then at Izumi. “Shut up. I don't need you here picking me up every day.” Sasuke spat out harshly. 

“Oh. Oh okay…I’m sorry… I'll just go then. Um. If you need me, you know where to find me…” Izumi despondently responded, deflating slightly. She quickly retreated from the clearing leaving Minato to contemplate the twos relationship. 

Minato stared sadly at the child in front of him. He wished Sasuke wouldn’t push away everyone that wanted to help him. He wasn’t alone in his pain after all. “You should really try treating the rest of your family better. They can help you.” 

Sasuke only grunted, he stood up and kicked at the ground with the tip of his shoe. Sending dirt flying at Naruto. 

Minato brushed off the dust and walked over to Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You know Izumi isn’t really trying to replace your mother right? She's just doing her best and trying to look after everyone. She’s only sixteen.” Pulling at Sasuke’s shoulder in an attempt to get the boy to look at him, he said, “Look. The other children also really look up to you, you know?” 

Sasuke ignored him, continuing to look at the ground instead of meeting Naruto’s eyes. 

“I know each time I’ve visited, Haruto keeps trying to get you to play with him, Genki tries to emulate you, Izuru tries to make your bentos with Izumi, and even though he doesn’t want to be a Shinobi, Yamada really respects you.” Minato softly said. “Your family really cares about you. And what about Haruka? You know Izumi really needs help taking care of her. She’s too young to understand what’s wrong so you can always try connecting with your family through her… You never know what it is you have until it's lost after all...”

“Shut up. Don’t talk to me about loss.” Sasuke snapped out, roughly jerking his shoulder out of Naruto’s grip. He turned and started walking away, leaving Minato to regret his slightly pointed words. Minato watched him go. Knowing that Sasuke was one to think over things on his own. The boy would come around eventually. He hoped…

  
  



	13. Turbid Days

The start of Minato’s fourth/eighth year in the academy was marked by the introduction of a new student. 

Iruka and Mizuki-sensei walked into class one day with a pale dark haired boy following behind them. 

“Attention class!” Iruka called out, quieting Minato’s gossiping classmates and sending a few students scurrying back to their seats. “I know it's a bit unconventional but we have a new transfer student for the last year of our classes. He has been receiving home tutoring for the past few years and has decided to join us for a short while.” Iruka gestured to the pale boy standing behind him. “This is Sai, I hope you all welcome him warmly.” 

Iruka steadfastly ignored the mutterings of the class on how it was ‘not fair that someone joined the academy so late’ and simply sent the boy to sit next to Sasuke. 

The class closely examined the boy sitting next to Sasuke. He was rather plain and unassuming and was dressed in a black shirt and shorts with standard Shinobi sandals. He had a blank close eyed smile pasted on his face and a scroll strapped to his right leg. Several of the girls noted similarities between him and Sasuke. Both were pretty boys and gave off a similar feeling of detachment and disinterest. 

Minato meanwhile had cold sweat dripping down his back. He recognized the emptiness that Sai exuded. It was the same feeling as that of his ROOT stalkers. Why had Danzo sent one of his plants into the Academy?  _ ‘Did I slip up somewhere or is this just further surveillance?’ _ Minato thought desperately. Was this a warning to him to stop his subtle investigations into Danzo? What was this agent’s purpose?

Not noticing his student’s inner turmoil, Iruka merely continued his morning announcements, “Class this year we have a very special treat! We have a training trip scheduled for outside of the village!” 

The class exploded into discussion, excitement was palpable in the air. It took several minutes of Iruka and Mizuki to rein them in again. 

“We’ll be training in a forest not far from the village so remember to pack survival gear and please take these permission slips to be signed by your parents!” Iruka called out over the din. 

Minato couldn't help but doubt that this was all a sick coincidence. Danzo’s ROOT agent is added to the class and then a field trip is organized to go outside the village walls? It was suspicious to Minato no matter how he looked at it. Normally, field trips were rather tame and simply involved one of the many training grounds inside of Konoha. It was just too risky to send baby ninja outside of village walls no matter if it was peacetime or not. 

“Hey, hey, Naruto aren’t you excited?” Kiba asked with Akamaru on his head, hanging over the edge of his desk to talk to Naruto. 

Kiba had received his Ninken just as the year had started and the boy now brought the small puppy to class with him everyday. Thankfully, the puppy spent most of its time sleeping in Kiba’s jacket and didn’t often disrupt class. 

Naruto turned and rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah. Uh. Yeah! I’m just worried because we’ve never had a training trip outside the village walls before… What if something goes wrong?” 

Kiba slapped his shoulder roughly, “Haha, are you being a scaredy cat? We’re going outside of the village for the first time!” 

Minato could only laugh awkwardly in response as the rest of his friends discussed excitedly what it would be like outside of the village. They were all too innocent and too trusting for a suspicious Shinobi like Minato to let them out of the walls. He didn’t understand why the Sandaime would sign off on such a trip. 

After class ended that day, Minato went to Iruka with his concerns. 

Poking his fingers together as he approached his teacher he said, “Sensei… I’m worried about this training trip outside of the village walls…I have a bad feeling about it.” 

Iruka turned to Naruto with a smile, “Ah, I understand your worries. There will be several Chunnin with us to guard the class. So it should be rather safe…”

Unfortunately even Iruka didn’t sound too sure of himself when he said that, so Minato wasn’t reassured in the least. 

“But Sensei. What if something goes wrong on the trip?”

Iruka took Naruto by the shoulders kindly, “No need to worry! There will be additional safety measures put in place that day, so it should all be fine. If the worst happens the teachers will have safety flares to signal Konoha if anything is wrong.” 

Still rather dissatisfied Minato could only nod his head in response. He would have to have his own contingencies. 

  
  


In the days leading up to the field trip, Minato took his friend group to an isolated pond in the forest behind the academy to learn how to water walk. Though somehow Sai had learned about the training group and had tagged along as well. 

“Alright everyone!” Minato exclaimed as the children gathered around him, curious about the day's lesson. “Today we’re learning water walking!” He said as he took a step out onto the surface of the pond. 

There were a few gasps of excitement and surprise as Minato demonstrated jumping and running on top of the water. 

“This is the next step of chakra control exercises after tree walking. You have to expel an exact amount of chakra from your feet and it has to match the ever constantly changing depth of water. This can be difficult to master at first but soon becomes second nature.” 

Minato then showed off by sitting down on the surface of the pond casually. “Of course this can be achieved with any part of your body but the feet are the hardest, as I explained when we were tree walking. Now it's everybody else’s turn.” 

Sai kicked off the lesson by demonstrating a perfect water walk right after Naruto’s explanation ended. 

“Kyaa! So cool, Sai!” Ino squealed as the pale boy returned to shore. 

“That was too easy, loser.” Sai said with his customary blank smile in place. 

Speaking of Sai, the child acted as to be expected of a young Shinobi trained out of his emotions. He was extremely awkward and followed books on how to make friends to the letter. Many of the children took this to be as a result of being too sheltered but Minato knew the sad truth. Sai would also use rather offensive nicknames when referring to other children. He had to be stopped from committing the Akimichi Taboo more than once and he would normally not speak unless spoken to. 

Minato didn’t really blame him. From what he had heard of ROOT’s emotional training, it was so traumatizing that it forced the trainee to lock away their own emotions for the sake of survival. Sai, as a result, was extremely emotionally stunted and did not know how to respond correctly to a variety of social cues. It hurt Minato’s heart to see someone so young be so hurt.

Fortunately, Ino had latched onto Sai almost immediately when she learned that the boy had trouble dealing with people. She tried her best to give him lessons on how to deal with people, roping Sakura into her lessons with the boy as well. Hinata had somehow prodded Shino into attending Ino’s lessons more than once as well. The first time Minato had heard of the lessons he’d laughed inside at the thought of children undoing some of Danzo’s harshest conditioning exercises, but as time passed he could see that at least Sai’s acting improved a little bit. 

At the very least some of the offensive nicknames had lessened but for some reason Sai had picked up on Sasuke’s nickname for Naruto. For some reason Sai had decided that Sauske was the person to emulate and spent most of his time following the boy around. Minato still hadn't been able to discern the true reason a ROOT agent was added to their class but he was sure that it wasn’t a good reason.

The other children rushed to the water after seeing Sai’s easy success. Not knowing about Sai’s ROOT training, they assumed water walking to be much easier than tree walking. They were wrong. 

Several splashes were sent out across the pond as Kiba and Sasuke fell in one after another. Making Naruto laugh and splash the surface of the water. 

Shino once again had decided to take the walking approach but was steadily sinking into the pond as he pin wheeled his arms to balance. 

Ino and Sakura were wobbling on the surface of the pond, their feet half way in the water but still floating a bit awkwardly.

Hinata hovered near the edge of the pond with Shikamaru, timidly dipping her toes into the pond and testing the water tension. 

Shikamaru yawned and squinted his eyes at Naruto lazily, he didn’t feel like getting wet today so he just hovered a foot above the water and tested it lightly like Hinata. 

Choji clutched his bag of chips to his chest protectively next to Shikamaru and toed the edge of the pond as well. 

Sasuke and Kiba ungracefully climbed out of the pond, circling around it uneasily as they assessed their chakra control before trying again. They glared daggers at each other from opposite ends of the pond.

“What are you looking at dobe?” Sasuke spat. 

“Huhhh? What did you say to me you bastard?” Kiba snarled back. 

Both boys took a step onto the pond at the same time, as if to confront the other. 

Minato just snickered to himself as they stepped straight through the water surface to the bottom of the pond. 

Sasuke blushed furiously at the sound of Naruto’s giggles and shouted at him angrily, “Shut up loser! I was just distracted by the wet dog over there!”

“Hey! Who are you calling a wet dog?!” Shouted Kiba, Akamaru barked from the shore in a show of support. 

“Humph.” Sasuke merely tilted his head in a condescending manner and looked down his nose at Kiba. 

Kiba growled and launched himself at Sasuke with a furious cry, sending both boys toppling backwards and causing waves in the previously calm pond. Sakura and Ino shrieked as they fell through the surface of the upset water. Shino hurriedly backtracked to shore with his wet pants while Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji watched the disaster with a combination of vague amusement and worry. 

Minato had managed to stay on the surface of the upset water but was having a hard time controlling himself through his laughter. Sasuke and Kiba put together were a riot! They couldn't stand each other most of the times and butted heads the rest. The two honestly reminded Minato of Obito and Kakashi a lot. Except this time it was the Uchiha who was the stuck up brat and the dog related boy the aggressor. 

Kiba was good for Sasuke, Minato thought. The dog boy kept the Uchiha from focusing too much on himself and was a predictable aspect of life. You could always tell when Kiba was riled up and when he would challenge Sasuke to yet another inane competition. 

Ino and Sakura finally pulled themselves from the pond, dripping with fury and water. Both girls were furious at Kiba for attacking Sasuke and for ruining their clothes. 

“Kiba! You idiot!” Sakura shrieked as she waded over to the scuffling boys to pull him off of Sasuke. 

Ino stomped after her, cracking her knuckles, looking to give Kiba a beating. 

Minato winced as both girls began to lay into the dog loving boy with an intense fervor. Sai merely observed the pandemonium with a detached look and made a few notes in his scroll. 

Once again when the children’s parents arrived they stayed behind to watch the children train for a while. Tsume was cackling at the state of her son the whole way home. Minato was glad that Izumi had still showed up for Sasuke with a few other of the younger Uchiha trailing behind her. He was happier to see Sasuke grudgingly follow her back home. Shikaku, however, hung back this time with his son to talk to Naruto. 

“Say Naruto, why'd you decide to set up this little after school learning session anyways?” 

Naruto tucked his hands in his pockets, time to tell someone who could do something about his worries. 

“Ah, Nara-san. I wanted to make sure my friends wouldn’t be left behind when we made genin. I compared lesson plans from a few years back to the current lesson plans and found that many useful techniques that were taught in the academy were cut in favor of more civilian based classes. Some infiltration classes have also been converted to Kunoichi only classes and it means valuable information is not being taught to all the new Genin so overall ninja quality will fall.” 

Shikaku stared at the small child in front of him. No, this wasn’t a child anymore, this was a shinobi. He was clearly on par with Itachi and Kakashi and yet his grades did not reflect it. The boy was hiding his true skills to help his peers? Truly an individual that believed in the Will of Fire. 

He outwardly just nodded to Naruto. He would make a note to discuss the academy situation with the Hokage at their next meeting. 

That night Minato trained himself furiously just in case of anything happening during the trip. He decimated the population of poisonous spiders in the Forest of death in preparation. He was trying to get his body in sync with his expectations, there were still moves he could visualize but couldn't perform after all. He also secretly went and applied new Hiraishin markers around the academy and village.

He went to sleep that night with an uneasy feeling about the next day. 

In the morning Naruto had a light breakfast as he contemplated the field trip, perhaps he was just too paranoid and nothing would happen? Either way he would rather be safe than sorry, so he packed his sealing kit, additional weapons, and a med kit. Just in case. 

Meeting up at the Academy and then setting off; the class set a light pace towards a forest near the Land of Rice, 

Naruto spent his walk mostly in silence, the bad feeling he had about this trip just wasn’t going away. Sai’s blank smile also seemed to be stiffer than usual in the class room this morning so Minato kept a close eye on the boy. He was occasionally drawn into a few conversations by Shikamaru but otherwise he was designing new seals as he walked. 

After several long hours under the hot sun Iruka finally called for a stop near the edge of a forest. 

“Alright everyone gather around now!” Iruka called out. 

The class clumped around the man obediently, the children were all too tired to fool around. They had walked a whole day to a forest that was near the Land of Rice. 

“We’ll be splitting up for our survival exercise today! Every group pick a leader and send them to me for a flare and a map with objectives and instructions on it! The flares are for emergency use only! Send one up if you need help and we’ll come get you. Complete the objectives written on you map and you can earn extra credit for your test scores depending on how many objectives you complete. We will be spending three days and three nights out here so work hard every one! Mizuki will be in charge of assigning groups!” Iruka explained, holding up a scroll in his hand. 

Mizuki then divided the class into groups of five, Sasuke, Sai, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto were all assigned to the same group. 

Gathering together the children quickly discussed who the leader should be. 

“Hmph. I should be the leader I am clearly the most capable shinobi here.” Sasuke said, nose up in the air.

Akamaru and Kiba both growled at him, “Nah. You bastard, I should be the leader!”

Minato intervened before the two could being bickering like usual. “Boys, boys, you’re both pretty, but I think we should make the leader Shikamaru.”

Shikamaru pointed at himself in shock, “Ehhh? Me? I don’t want the responsibility! It’s too troublesome!” 

Naruto harshly whispered to him “It’s better than having those two arguing the whole time so just suck it up.” 

Shikamaru deflated with a sigh and trundled over to Iruka to collect their items. 

Sai just stood in the background assessing the children silently. 

Once Shikamaru returned with the supplies, the group fell into discussion mode. 

“So what do we do now?” Asked Kiba. 

“Well first we read the instructions and see how we can accomplish them. Then we set up camp and sleep for the night. How does that sound?” Suggested Naruto. 

Sasuke ‘hn’ed in response while the rest of the group nodded their heads. Shikamaru unfurled the scroll he had received and started reading aloud. 

“Dear Academy students, 

There are five hidden objectives in this forest for you to find. Marked on the map are the locations of the entrance to the forest, as well as four of the objectives. Once you find all four of the objectives the fifth objective will be revealed. Survive for three days and find these objectives. For each objective found by the end of three days every group will be awarded an additional point to add to their final exams.

Good luck and Good hunting.”

“Hmm. Seems pretty straightforward” Said Sasuke, examining the map over Shikamaru’s shoulder. 

“Well that's good.” Minato said stretching his arms over his head, “Let’s first set up camp for the day and search for the objectives tomorrow!” 

The small group agreed and soon enough the boys were sleeping peacefully in tents. 

The next three days passed rather uneventfully, the boys had tracked down four of the objectives, mostly with Shikamaru and Naruto’s help, which had been clues on the whereabouts of the fifth. 

They spent their days discussing what it felt like to be out of the village and any other inane thought that crossed their minds. 

Soon they found the fifth objective, which was a rather shiny kunai knife that appeared more decorative than really necessary. 

Delayed by Kiba’s shenanigans it soon became dark, the group decided to try and get back and camp by the entrance of the forest while waiting on the rest of their class. 

They wandered a while in the dark until it was clear that they were lost, having passed a distinctly shaped fallen log twice already. 

Shikamaru sighed, it had been a long three days of listening to Kiba and Sasuke argue. He was tired and just wanted to go home already. He searched through his pockets for the map to direct them. Feeling around in his pouch, cold sweat began to form on the back of his neck. Nothing. There was nothing there! Shikamaru hurriedly searched through all his pockets. 

“The map and flare are missing!” He announced frantically. 

“What?” Asked Kiba with a high pitched voice. 

“They’re gone! I had them right here in my pouch but now they’re both gone! I had it right here!”

Sasuke ‘tched’ “I knew we shouldn’t have given them to you.”

Naruto sighed, “It must have fallen out somehow...” 

“No it couldn’t have!” Shikamaru responded while back tracking quickly, scanning the ground for any sign of the map and flare. 

“Well it's missing now isn’t it?” Sasuke retorted. 

“Are we really lost?” Kiba whined. 

“What do you think dobe? What do we do now?” Sasuke said angry and tired. 

“I don’t know!” Yelled Kiba. 

“I think I know the way back.” Said Sai calmly.

Minato narrowed his eyes. This was a bit too convenient. Of course Minato knew the way back as well but he wanted to see how the children would deal with the situation on their own. 

“Are you sure Sai? We could just wait here until the trip ends, the teachers will come looking for us when we don't show up. Or Kiba could try tracking our trail back…” Minato said. 

“I’m sure, loser. Come on, follow me.” Sai replied calmly. 

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke who shrugged at him and made to follow the pale child. Kiba just went along with Sai without thinking and soon Shikamaru and Naruto were left behind to catch up. 

Minato didn’t comment as they were led further and further away from the entrance of the forest. His suspicions of Sai growing with each step they took. He soon stopped the group by a rushing river, 

“Hey Sai. I think we’re getting further and further from the entrance of the forest you know?” 

Sai tilted his head innocently, “What do you mean? I’m heading back the way we came.” 

Minato frowned. “Sai. You’re not a very good liar so please take us back the way we came.” 

Sai stopped walking and only smiled blankly at Naruto, he didn’t say anything more. 

Naruto soon sensed several unknown chakra signatures quickly approaching the children, he became tense and started thumbing his weapons pouch. Damn. He knew that this field trip was a bad idea. What were these nin here for?

Suddenly Kunai flew out of the thick darkness towards the children. Minato swiftly moved to protect the children. He deflected the weapons with his own kunai with sharp clangs. 

“What! An attack?” Shikamaru yelped.

“No, no, this has to be a part of the training exercise right?” Kiba asked nervously. 

“No Kiba don't be dumb! This isn’t part of the trip!” Yelled Sasuke. 

Minato assessed the situation nervously, he couldn’t protect the children without revealing some of his abilities but he didn’t want to have to explain where his abilities came from. What should he do? 

Mianto quickly noted that Sai had disappeared from sight and the only ones left were Naruto and three terrified children. 

The enemy ninja didn’t give Naruto much more time to think. They charged into the group of children and easily separated them. Naruto couldn't really worry about the other children as he was busy fighting off his attacker, in the lull of the fight he hastily formed three shadow clones and sent each of them off to find Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru. He didn’t bother to worry about Sai since he assumed that ROOT was in on this attack. 

“Sasuke! Send a fireball into the sky as a flare!” Mianto shouted as he blocked another deadly slash to his neck with his kunai. 

Sasuke quickly complied, jumping away from his pursuers and flipping through hand signs. The fireball lit up the clearing, illumination their attackers for a brief moment. Their five attackers were all dressed in dark clothes with strange music note forehead protectors that Minato didn’t recognize. He quickly assumed that these were attackers from a minor village. 

What appeared to be the captain of the enemy shinobi shouted to the rest of his team. 

“We only need the Uchiha! Ignore the rest of the children!”

“Hai!” His team shouted back at him, quickly backing off from Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto’s clones. They converged upon Sasuke and bundled up the boy in rope in the blink of an eye and vanished into the trees. 

‘ _ What…? They’re not after me but Sasuke? But what about ROOT?’  _ Minato thought, stunned. 

“Shikamaru! Kiba! Stay here and wait for the teachers I’ll go after Sasuke!” He shouted at the two frozen children. 

“What!? You can't go on your own! You won't be able to take on five Ninja by yourself!” Yelped Shikamaru. 

“There’s no time! I won’t take them on by myself. I'm just going to get Sasuke back! Stay safe!” Naruto yelled back as he dashed off into the trees. 

“What no! Naruto wait!” Kiba shouted as he tried to grab on to Naruto’s shoulder. Unfortunately the boy missed and was left behind in the dust. 

Minato chased after the fleein nin in the dark, spreading out his senses to the max to catch their trails. When he had almost caught up to the strange nin he formed six additional shadow clones and henged them into Konoha ANBU. He sent them forwards to deal with the enemy nin as he hid himself high up in the trees to observe the fight. 

“What!? Konoha ANBU? Here? How?” The captain of the unknown ninja asked. “Quick stall them! I'll get the boy to Orochimaru-sama!” 

Four of the unknown ninja dropped behind to stall the ANBU, quickly engaging four of the clones. Sparks danced across the trees as kunai clashed with kunai. The night was a flurry of movement as Naruto’s clones fought off the decoys.

The last two clones raced after the commander and threw shuriken at his legs in an attempt to stall the man. The man jumped over the projectiles only to be promptly tackled off his tree branch to the forest floor below by a clone. 

The man dropped Sasuke where he fell and scrambled to his feet to block a brace of shuriken aimed at his neck. 

Minato frantically formed another shadow clone besides him. He hoped that the enemy Ninja was too busy with the fake ANBU to notice what he was doing. He commanded the shadow clone to henge into Sasuke, then he had the clone perform a Kawarimi with Sasuke.

Sasuke suddenly experienced a violent bout of whiplash and vertigo. One moment he was tied up and being carried off by an unknown enemy nin who was looking to kidnap him. The next he was dazed and sitting in front of a concerned looking Naruto. 

“Naruto?” He asked, rather shocked. 

“Yeah, it's me. Let’s go.” 

Naruto quickly picked up the stunned boy and made a dash for it. 

Soon enough the fake ANBU were dispelled one after another by a coordinated attack from the enemy, they picked up the henged Sasuke clone and resumed their escape. 

It took several minutes for the shadow clone to dispel and by the time it had disappeared, Naruto and Sasuke were long gone. Shouts of rage rang out through the forest. 

Stopping in a cave near a river, Minato quickly threw up several seals to hide the cave from outsiders. He could only hope that Kiba and Shikamaru were safe since they weren’t targets. 

Minato didn’t understand why foreign Shinobi were targeting Sasuke. Was it simply for the Sharingan bloodline? They mentioned Orochimaru as well so it couldn't be anything good. They also had the help of Sai, this would mean that Danzo was involved and collaborating with Orochimaru. But Minato didn’t have any evidence to pin on him. 

Still. Why would they be targeting Sasuke? It’s not like he- Oh. Oh no. Minato whipped his head around to look at Sasuke who was shivering behind him. Taking Sasuke by the shoulders Minato looked into the boy’s eyes trying to convey his seriousness. 

“Sasuke” he said “Have you been asking questions about the Uchiha massacre recently?” 

Sasuke started and looked at Naruto with unfocused eyes. He hesitantly nodded his head, still shaking from his experience. 

Naruto gripped Sasuke’s shoulders harder. “Stop for now, you're dealing with things you don't understand just yet. It’s too dangerous for you to go asking questions randomly.” 

Sasuke exploded in anger, “Why!? What do you mean it's too dangerous?!? What does that have to do with what just happened!?”

Naruto shook Sasuke, trying to get him to listen, “Those people just now! They were after you because you're foolishly going around digging where you shouldn’t be. You have to be careful!” 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, “How do you know that! Why can't you just tell me what you know?” He slapped Naruto’s hands away from his shoulders. 

Minato took a step back and breathed, he had to be careful with what he said, one wrong word and Sasuke would direct his hate towards the village of Konoha, he would much rather Sasuke talk this out with his brother. 

“The ones who kidnapped you, were only looking for you, I know some things about the massacre but I can’t tell you just yet. You have to be patient, you are too angry to hear what I have to say.” 

“What do you mean I’m too angry?”

“I mean exactly that! You are too emotional to hear what I have to say calmly!”

Sasuke angrily turned away from Naruto but Naruto grabbed his chin harshly. Forcing Sasuke to look him in the eyes. “You are also not the only one affected by this so stop being so selfish! You could be endangering the rest of the Uchiha clan! They went after you this time, what about the next!? Are you willing to sacrifice your family for answers? You have a duty as the next Head of the Uchiha clan to protect them, don't you?” 

Sasuke froze. Was he willing to sacrifice the little family that he had left? And what was this unknown danger? 

“Be patient, one day I promise to tell you the truth.” Said Naruto, staring into Sasuke’s eyes. 

Sasuke could only nod slowly, still stunned by conflicting thoughts and exhaustion from his kidnapping attempt. 

Minato sighed and patted Sasuke’s shoulders gently, the boy had just gone through a rather terrifying situation. 

The boys waited the rest of the night out in the cave in a tense silence. Sasuke occasionally snuck weary glances over at Naruto but didn’t question him. When morning came both boys hesitantly made their way back to the entrance of the forest. 

Sai had a curiously blank expression on his face when he saw that Naruto and Sasuke returned unharmed. Kiba and Shikamaru dashed up to them the moment they saw the two walk out from between the trees. 

“You two! We were so worried! Don't leave us behind like that” Kiba yelled. 

“Yeah! Mizuki found us and he didn’t believe us when we said that Sasuke had been kidnapped!” Shikamaru added. 

Their complaints were interrupted when Iruka and Mizuki stormed up to the two. 

Naruto noticed that Mizuki seemed unreasonably angry to see the two students. He narrowed his eyes at the man and marked him as suspicious in his mind

“Where were you two? Don’t you know it's not safe to split up like that? We put you in groups of five for a reason!” Iruka shouted, worried and incensed all at the same time. 

“Sorry Sensei. We were attacked by enemy ninja wearing music note hitai ate and Sasuke got kidnapped. I followed him and rescued him by performing a kawarimi with a shadow clone.” Naruto responded calmly. 

“What! Why didn’t you use your flare then?” Iruka exclaimed, ignoring the fact that his student could use the shadow clone for now. 

Naruto scratched the back of his head, “Ah well… We lost it before we were attacked… We sent up a fireball to try and replicate a flare though!” 

Iruka facepalmed, “So that's what that was. Well at least you two are safe, good job on rescuing Sasuke, Naruto. We will need to report to the Sandaime. Come on let's go back…” 

Soon enough the five children and two academy teachers were standing in the Sandaime’s office at the Hokage tower. 

The Sandaime’s mouth dropped open, nearly letting his pipe fall. “What! There was a kidnapping attempt on an academy student?” 

“Hai, Sandaime-sama. Uchiha Sasuke reports that he was targeted by an unknown group of five enemy nin and kidnapped, only to be rescued by Uzumaki Naruto.” Iruka reported. 

The Sandaime laced his fingers together in front of his face. “Did we get any distinguishing features of the enemy?” 

Naruto stepped forward, “Sandaime-sama, the enemy were wearing strange music note Hitai-ate and were dressed in very dark clothing. The leader of the group that attacked us also mentioned something about Orochimaru” 

The Sandaime nodded his head gravely, “Thank you, Naruto. This is valuable information and we will have our best spies research this matter. Now is there anything else anyone wants to tell me about the situation?” 

Kiba and Shikamaru glance at each other and shrugged, Sai stood there like a statue, Sasuke only grunted in reply and Naruto considered them before saying, “I believe I have something to share, but only in private.” 

“Why can’t you tell us?” Sasuke asked curiously. 

Naruto just shook his head and waved Sasuke off. The Sandaime looked at Naruto for a moment before dismissing the rest of his friends and the academy teachers. “Now what is it that you wanted to discuss, Naruto?” 

Naruto folded his arms against his chest and hummed before answering, “I believe that Danzo is consorting with Orochimaru.”

This time the pipe did fall from the Sandaime’s lips. “What?!” 

“I believe that Sai is a ROOT agent and was assigned to lead our group into a trap so Sasuke could be kidnapped.” 

The Sandaime considered the information for a moment before asking, “Why do you believe Sasuke was targeted? And do you have any proof?” 

“I asked Sasuke myself, he said he had been researching the Uchiha Massacre. And no I don't have any proof.” Said Naruto, shaking his head in consternation. He shouldn’t have told Sasuke anything, then this wouldn’t have happened. 

“I see… You understand that the secret of the Uchiha Massacre cannot be revealed to him correct?” 

Naruto stared at the Sandaime with judging eyes “...Yes. Of course.” 

The Sandaime sighed, “I will have a talk with Danzo after this Naruto, don't worry this won't happen again.” 

“I thought the foundation had been disbanded after the Massacre, why is Danzo still a problem?” Asked Naruto. 

“It was as you yourself said, I don't have any proof.” Replied the Sandaime. 

Minato didn’t have the words to describe the disappointment he felt. It only reconfirmed for him that there needed to be a new Kage, and soon. He could already tell that the Sandaime’s talk with Danzo would be largely useless. 

Nothing more to be said, Naruto left the office in a huff and went to the forest of death to vent. 

The next day in class Iruka revealed that Sai had apparently decided to return to homeschooling and would not be returning for the rest of the year. 

The only one that was really disappointed by the news was Ino. Naruto was just relieved he wouldn’t have to be so guarded all the time in classes anymore. 


	14. Graduation Days

“So. Sasuke how have you been doing lately?” Minato asked perched on the kitchen table. He inspected the boy closely as he bustled around the cozy kitchen. The kitchen was painted a pleasing pale green with brown cabinets. It was kept very neat and orderly. Minato could practically see the ghost of Mikoto in all her glory, bustling around in her element. 

The Uchihas had all collectively moved into or near Sasuke’s house as it was one of the largest homes in the compound. It was very helpful for chasing away any lingering loneliness from being the only survivors of the Massacre to have everyone in one place. 

Sasuke ‘hn’ed in response and returned to chopping the vegetables. 

“I see, well if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know I’m always here.” 

Sasuke grunted again as he dumped the vegetables into the pot to simmer. 

Haruka suddenly burst into the kitchen with an exuberance, latching onto Sasuke’s legs. “Ne. Ne. Sasuke-nii can you teach me how to throw shuriken later?” she asked. 

“Sure, sure. Later, I’m busy right now. Why don't you find Haruto for now?” 

“Ehh Haruto? He’s so boring though! At least Izuru will play with me!”

“Then go bother Izuru, I guess.”

“Okay Sasuke-nii!” 

Haruka then quickly scampered off.

Minato smiled softly. After the debacle in the forest Sasuke had mellowed out a bit. But only to his family and Naruto. He now helped Izumi with the chores more often and was teaching himself to cook to better look after the younger children. He had really stepped up to his role as the next head of the Uchiha clan. 

“So, Sasuke. Do you think you’re ready for graduation?” 

“Hmph. Of course I am, loser. I should be asking you that question. Are you sure you’re ready to stop holding back?”

“Hahahah. No, not quite.”

Sasuke stopped what he was doing to look Naruto in the eye, “Why do you hold yourself back so much?” 

Naruto shrugged blithely, “Hmm… Well it’s much harder to make friends if you stand out too much isn’t it?” 

Sasuke flinched as the memories of shrieking fangirls overcame him. 

“Also, don’t you know? Deception is a shinobi’s best friend.” Minato winked at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared dully back at Naruto and huffed a breath. 

“Fine then. Keep your secrets. But I swear, I will find out. One day.” 

Naruto nodded at Sasuke. “Do you know when Izumi is returning from her mission?” 

“It should be in a few days. I’ll tell her you visited.”

“Aah. Thank you.” Naruto pushed off the counter and went to help Sasuke with the stew, adding in a few spices and stirring. 

Sasuke nodded at Naruto and went to prepare his side dishes. Chopping another few vegetables for frying. 

“Are you staying over for dinner?” Sasuke asked. 

“I better not intrude, I'll be leaving soon.” 

“Take something before you go, you helped with cooking after all.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the kindness. “Really? Thanks a lot then Sasuke.” 

Minato received another grunt in reply. 

Soon enough Minato had been chased out of the Uchiha compound by a crowd of hungry children stampeding into the kitchen. He laughed as he left, happy to see that the Uchiha clan was well and recovering. 

Minato decided to take a longer route around the main part of the village to avoid the majority of the villagers. He slowly meandered down the streets back to his home humming to himself. 

Suddenly a deep growling voice rang out from the back of Minato’s mind. 

**“I don’t understand why you spend so much time with those wretched Uchiha.”**

Startled Naruto nearly tripped and dropped the food he was holding as he was walking back to his own compound. “ _ Kurama-san, is that you?” _

**“Of course it's me, who else is in your mind? Did you forget about the Biju conveniently sealed in your gut?”** Kurama said bitterly. 

Minato sweat dropped.  _ “Ah I didn't forget, I just haven't had time to visit. I've had too many thoughts in my head. What is so wrong with me spending time with the Uchiha? _ ” 

“ **Tch. My vessel shouldn’t be spending so much time around those cursed war mongers.”**

_ ‘Cursed? War mongers? Is he referring to the warring clans era?’  _ Minato thought. 

_ “What do you mean Kurama-san?” _

**“What I mean is, interacting with the Uchiha will not be conducive to your health in the long run.”**

Minato tilted his head in consideration. “ _ Do you just not like them because they have the potential to control you or is it something more?”  _

Kurama spluttered indignantly,  **“O-Of course it's something more! Are you not aware of the history behind the Uchiha?”**

_ “They were one of the founding clans of Konoha, weren't they? They were a great clan of talented fire jutsu users who were rivals with the Senju.”  _

**“They weren't just rivals, they were sworn enemies. But to understand the Uchiha’s history and curse you must first understand the story of the Sage of Six Paths.”**

**_“_ ** _ The Sage of Six Paths? I thought that was just a myth?”  _

**“Fool. All Myths are somewhat rooted in the truth.”**

_ “Ah that is quite true Kurama-san. But can you hold off on the history lesson for a bit until we get home?” _

**“Hmph** **_._ ** **”**

Minato took that as a reluctant agreement. So he picked up the pace and returned to the Namikaze compound quickly. Ignoring any glares that were aimed his way, he ran through the streets of Konoha. Though he made sure no one saw him go into the house. Entering the house he kicked off his shoes messily, dropped the food he held on his kitchen counter and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. Plopping himself down on the bed in a meditative position, he fell into his mindscape. 

He opened his eyes to Kurama who was lying down on crossed arms awaiting his appearance. 

“What is it that you wanted to teach me, Kurama-san?” 

“ **To first understand the Uchiha, you must understand the story of my father, Hagoromo Otsutsuki.”**

**“** Wait, you had a father? Wait, your father was the Sage of Six Paths?”

“ **Don't interrupt me.”**

“Ah of course, my apologies.” 

“ **This is a very condensed version, mind you.”**

“Ah Um. Okay?”

**“Hagoromo was the son of Kaguya Otsutsuki who ate the fruit of the great God Tree. She was the first person to use chakra, she gave birth to two children. Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki. These two children were also capable of using chakra. Eventually Kaguya became enraged that there were those who could use chakra other than her. She fused with the God Tree to take back all chakra. Becoming the Ten Tails. Hagoromo and Hamura eventually defeated the Ten Tails in a great battle that lasted many days. Hagoromo sealed the Ten Tails into himself, becoming the first Jinchurriki. He then spread chakra all over the world as the teachings of Ninshuu in effort to bring about peace. He met a woman and fell in love and had two sons, Indra and Asura. At the end of his life he split the Ten Tails into nine, creating the nine Biju. ”**

Minato tilted his head in thought,  **“** So that's how you came to be.” 

Kurama nodded and continued,  **“Indeed. He split the Biju due to an idea he received from his sons. But the story is not over yet. Hagoromo knew that Ninshuu would need a successor to continue, he had a choice between Asura and Indra. Now Indra was a prodigy while Asura was the opposite. Hagoromo surprisingly chose Asura as his successor. Asura believed that love and cooperation were the true paths to peace while Indra believed in power. Hagoromo felt that Asura’s path was the true way to peace. Indra was enraged by this decision and attacked Asura and Hagoromo. He was defeated and escaped, only to return when Father was on his deathbed. He swore to destroy Ninshuu. His descendants, the Uchiha, have then warred with the Senju, descendants of Asura, for decades. Thus the Uchiha are subject to the curse of hatred. Their love is so strong that when it is lost, they succumb to an equally powerful hatred.”**

“I see… But that's not true of every Uchiha is it? Shisui was free of the curse.”

Kurama paused. He thought back to what he had seen of the cheerful Uchiha and his last moments. He sat in silence for a bit. “ **I suppose… There can be exceptions… It is still not healthy for you to interact with the Uchiha so. ”**

Minato smiled wryly at Kurama, his mind was already made up about interacting with the Uchiha. But then a sad look passed over his face. “Is this part of why you hate humans so much? Because we’ve converted Ninshuu into Ninjutsu for war and spit on your father’s teachings of peace?” 

Kurama didn’t respond, choosing to examine Minato instead. He waved his tails lazily and huffed out a breath when Minato didn’t say anything in return. “ **I suppose that is one reason for me to dislike you filthy humans.”**

Minato nodded at Kurama and solemnly bowed. “It may not be my place but, I apologize for what humanity has done to the sacred teachings of your father.” 

He then clapped his hands together, “I hope that one day people can stop fighting and that there may be peace. But until then we must keep trying our best to end the cycle of hatred. For now, I hope that this can suffice as an apology. I am finally in a better mental state to be able to do this.” 

Concentrating deeply Minato envisioned a beautiful scene of rolling golden wheat fields, off in the distance were bountiful forests and mountains. He gritted his teeth and pushed all his mental prowess into imagining a wide blue sky with freely drifting clouds and cheerfully shining sun. He slowly spent his spiritual energy reconstructing his mindscape from the ground up. 

Minato panted and opened his eyes to a shocked Kurama who was uncaged and now wearing a collar around his neck bearing the word ‘Seal’. Kurama was openly gaping at his new surroundings. 

Never before had any of his vessels considered his comfort. Never before had any of his vessels bothered to hear him out. Never before had he experienced such respect since his old man had died. Truly. Just how many times would this man leave him speechless? He had been bound to the ground with tori gates, staked to a moon with great chains, and locked in a gigantic cage. Was this a dream? Did he truly not have to worry about confinements? 

Kurama slowly stood to his full height. Not believing that his cage had truly disappeared. He didn't encounter an invisible ceiling as he stood. He tentatively took a step out of his original cage’s dimensions. He didn't encounter any resistance as he walked. 

Soon enough, the great and terrifying Kyuubi no Yoko was frolicking in the fields like a young kit. 

Minato chuckled to himself quietly as he watched the Kyuubi’s joy at attaining a measure of freedom. 

The Kyuubi froze hearing Minato's chuckles. He’d forgotten himself!  **“SILENCE HUMAN!”** He coughed awkwardly and collected himself. Ignoring the fact that he had just been happily rolling around on his back under the sun.  **“YOU WILL NOT TELL ANYONE OF THIS!”** he roared indignantly. 

Minato muffled his laughter with a hand and nodded unconvincingly at Kurama. It was interesting seeing a fox blush, Minato thought. 

“Well then. I'll leave you to it. Thank you for the lesson, you’ve given me much to think about.” 

With that said, Minato disappeared from his mindscape leaving Kurama alone in the golden wheat fields. 

Kurama trembled in suppressed embarrassment and fury for a bit before he shrugged. He quickly resumed his frolicking and exploration of his new home. 

  
  


With graduation quickly coming around the corner, the students at the Academy were more on edge than ever. Students frantically quizzed each other in between classes and trained themselves into exhaustion. Minato himself was busy reminiscing about what it was like to panic over exams. He already knew what would be on the final exams, so he didn’t need to bother with learning anything new. At most he reviewed some of the more obscure information that he could possibly need and that was it. He watched as Sakura panicked over her grades with a hidden amusement. Grades wouldn’t matter if you became genin or not. The Jounin’s test was the true decider that determined if you were sent back to the Academy or not. 

A night before graduation Minato discovered that he couldn’t sleep for some reason. He tossed and turned in bed for a while before deciding to take a walk around the village. He sighed and climbed out of bed, pulling on his standard outfit of a sleeveless orange hoodie, navy shirt, and green cargo shorts. He hopped out of his bedroom window and set off to explore the village bright and early at 3 am. 

Minato sat himself down at the top of one of the many electricity poles along the village and looked over at the hokage monument. He studied the likeness of his own face, it didn’t really look all that much like him, he thought. Its expression was much too stern for his tastes. He sighed and returned to observing the village instead, idly noting the regular ANBU patrols that would occasionally pass his line of sight. Slowly an idea began forming in his mind as he watched ANBU agents jumping over the rooftops. He was bored. He had the abilities and resources. So why shouldn’t he? Kushina would have approved after all. 

Thus Minato pulled off a repeat of one of his biggest pranks. He painted the Hokage mountains again. This time he simply painted the Kage faces with bright neon paint and refrained from obnoxious comments. The mountain was brightly visible even at night.

The main reason he continued to pull these ridiculous pranks was to help improve village security. He’d discovered in his early years of sneaking about the village that security was incredibly lax. Though this was partly due to a shortage in manpower after the Kyuubi attack. But when the village had mostly recovered some of these holes in security still had not been patched. Minato made sure to leave a note of how he accomplished each prank so that ANBU could fix their mistakes. He’d discovered another break in the patrol patterns of the ANBU night guard, so he took full advantage of the gap to paint the mountain. 

The next morning the village was abuzz with questions and paranoia. Many villagers feared another prank fest was soon approaching and were discussing how to catch the perpetrator. Minato just snickered to himself all the way to the academy, he wouldn’t be caught. After all, any evidence tying the act to him had been disposed of thanks to a few clever combustion seals. 

He might have gotten no sleep but it was worth it for the looks on the villagers faces in the morning. 

At the academy all the students could talk about was the hilarity of the neon Hokage monument. Minato subtly but smugly basked in the praise and commotion that he had caused while sitting in the corner of the room. 

The class quieted as Iruka and Mizuki walked into the room. Both teachers looked incredibly put out for some reason and were in no mood for shenanigans. Iruka started class with a customary ‘good morning’ then Mizuki spoke up.

“Tomorrow will be the day you take the final and graduate from the Ninja academy. Today will simply be a review day of any techniques that may be tested tomorrow. We will first be reviewing the transformation technique. All you have to do is conjure a form that looks like me.” 

And so one by one the class went up and henged themselves into perfect doubles of Mizuki. That is until Kiba. Kiba went up and conjured up a most hideous impression of Mizuki, the copy had a distended nose, exaggerated ears, lanky hair and protruding buck teeth. The class howled with laughter as Iruka proceeded to angrily scold the boy for his failing grades and sent him out to the hall for the rest of class. 

Minato simply appreciated the artistic rendition of Mizuki’s features and pulled out a book on sealing to study for the rest of class. 

After classes ended Iruka invited Naruto out for ramen once again. Perking up at the offer, Minato gratefully accepted and followed the man to Ichirakus. 

At the stand Iruka and Naruto made small talk until the ramen arrived, then there was a lull in which Naruto and Iruka simply stuffed their faces with delicious ramen. 

Iruka continued on his tangent as he swallowed a gulp of ramen, “Still, I cant believe someone would do that to the Hokage monument. I mean. Don’t they know what the Hokages have done for this village? Talk about disrespect.” 

“Maybe some of them didn’t deserve the respect…” Minato said solemnly. 

“What do you mean, Naruto?”

“I mean the fourth Hokage. Don’t you think it was selfish of him to sacrifice himself to save the village?” 

“How can that be selfish? Don't be disrespectful to Yondaime-same! He sacrificed himself to defeat the Kyuubi after all!” 

“You don't think that it was him running away from his responsibilities as Hokage?”

“Of course not! If anything he fulfilled his responsibilities to protect his village with all his power!”

Minato just nodded and stared at his bowl of ramen, it was a hidden fear of his that he’d simply run away from the responsibility of being alone with Naruto. That he couldn't deal with being without Kushina that made him choose to use the Shiki Fuin. That he wasn't as selfless as people like to paint him as. He wondered if he really deserved respect at all. 

But Iruka wouldn’t understand that, he would have to deal with this problem on his own. 

Naruto sighed and slurped up the rest of his soup and asked Teuchi for another bowl. 

Iruka watched him worriedly for a bit, then he shrugged and patted Naruto on the shoulder. “Maa, don't worry so much about something that's in the past. Worry about how you're going to pass tomorrow!”

“Hey! I’ll do fine just watch me!” Minato said. He could only take Iruka’s advice for now. It was in the past, he could only move forwards. He couldn't afford to doubt himself too much. 

  
  


Minato sat in the classroom calmly as his classmates chattered all around him. They had just finished the written portion of the final exams and would be starting the jutsu portion next. He was confident that he’d passed easily enough without over performing.

Minato bounced his leg impatiently. He would be returning to actual missions soon enough. He couldn’t wait. Training as well and fine but there was a different feeling to having a mission and accomplishing said mission. Ah. But first he would have to suffer through countless D-ranks again, he hung his head in despair. 

“Hey Naruto. Why so down?” Sasuke asked, noticing the boy’s mood swings. “Chickening out already?” 

“No no. Nothing like that. I was just thinking of when we would be assigned missions and the D-ranks that would come.” 

“Ah. I see. Shisui would often complain about them to-“ 

Sasuke abruptly stopped talking. Minato smiled sadly at the boy, knowing what was on his mind. 

Iruka walked through the door and the chatter in the classroom instantly vanished for a change. 

He had a pleased smile on at the silence that followed his entrance. 

“Now. For your final exam, you must each generate a clone.” Iruka said, reading off a sheet of paper. “Wait here until your name is called and then come next door.” 

Minato couldn't help the sweat drop that formed on his face, a Bunshin? That was it for the final exam? His exam several years ago had been much harder than this! Ah well… The forces needed more ninja anyways… 

Minato sat bouncing his leg as he watched the other children get called upon and leave the room. When his name was finally called, he shot out of his seat and ran to the next room. 

The next room was empty of any tables or chairs except for the table that the Mizuki and Iruka sat at with a set of Hitai-ate in front of them. They gestured to Naruto to begin and he formed a half ram sign and formed three shadow clones besides him. 

Just as Iruka was standing, about to congratulate Naruto for passing, Mizuki stopped him and said, “I’m sorry Naruto but I can't let you pass without a normal clone. Those are shadow clones aren’t they?”

Minato reluctantly nodded. He formed the ram seal and tried to inject as little chakra as possible into the technique. Three clones slowly shimmered into existence besides him. Except they were drooping, white, and vanished quickly. 

Iruka sat back down in shock he looked at Naruto then at Mizuki, his expression fell and he looked down at the floor as Mizuki told his favorite student he had failed. 

Minato left the room in shock. He’d failed because of a simple clone? The shadow clone should have been enough to let him pass though! Something was strange here, he’d known that Mizuki was biased against him but this was too much! He would visit the Hokage and get this sorted out. Just as he was about to leave the academy grounds he heard a shout come from behind him. 

“Naruto! Wait!” 

Minato turned to find Mizuki chasing after him. 

“Yes, Mizuki-sensei?”

“Come with me Naruto. There’s something I have to tell you.” 

“Huh? Oh. Okay?”

Minato followed Mizuki to a small clearing in the forests surrounding Konoha. He had a strange feeling about whatever it was that Mizuki wanted to talk to him about. Mizuki sat on the ground and gestured to Naruto to do the same. 

“I didn’t really want to fail you, you know Naruto?” 

“I understand sensei. Its okay, I can always try again next year after all.” Minato said. 

Mizuki scratched his chin and looked intently at Naruto, “Hmm… Let me tell you a secret Naruto.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a secret graduation test for only the best shinobi.” 

“What?”

“Yeah, all you have to do is steal the forbidden scroll, learn a technique from it, and return here. You can graduate that ways.” 

Minato sweat dropped internally. Did the man really think he was that dumb? Well he could play along. 

“Really!?” Naruto asked excitedly.

“Yeah! Can you believe it? You have to do it soon though or else you’ll run out of time to learn a technique!” Mizuki enthusiastically responded. 

“Alright! Just hold on Mizuki-sensei! I’ll pass in no time!” 

  
  
  


Iruka lay on his small apartment bed considering his favorite student. Naruto was his best behaved student, he learned quickly and would participate freely in class discussions. He would help his classmates to the best of his abilities and he was also an amazing conversationalist. A fact Iruka only learned after inviting the boy to ramen. He really couldn't see any bit of the Kyuubi within him. It really was a pity that he couldn’t produce a normal Bunshin. He would have made an amazing shinobi. 

Suddenly there was a panicked knocking at his door. Iruka snapped up from his bed and opened the door, finding a panting Mizuki. 

“Mizuki? What’s up?” Iruka asked. 

“Iruka! It’s Naruto! Somehow he’s found out about and stolen the forbidden scroll!”

“What?!” 

Soon enough Iruka was amongst other Shinobi in front of the Sandaime who was debriefing. 

“The scroll he has taken is so dangerous that the first Hokage sealed it away! If misused or placed in the wrong hands, it could be deadly! The scroll was taken just a short while ago. We must find him!” 

The gathered shinobi all chorused in one voice, “Hai!” And disappeared quickly to find the missing boy. 

  
  
  


Minato was waiting patiently with the scroll opened across his lap calmly reading it, when Iruka finally stumbled across him in the dark forest clearing. 

“Naruto! I found you! What do you think you're doing?!”

Naruto looked up at his worried sensei in surprise, rolling up the scroll and strapping it to his back. 

“Oh! Sensei! You’re not the one I was expecting.” 

“Huh? What do you mean Naruto?” 

“Mizuki-sensei told me that if I learned one technique from his scroll I could graduate! So I was waiting for him!” 

“What…? Mizuki?” 

Iruka abruptly pushed Naruto out of the way as a brace of kunai suddenly came flying at him.

Landing on a tree branch above the clearing, Mizuki appeared with two fuma shuriken strapped to his back. 

“Heh. I’m impressed you knew where to go, Iruka.”

“Now I get it.” Iruka said, gripping onto one of the kunai embedded in his thigh. 

Mizuki ignored Iruka, turning to Naruto he said with a cold voice, “The scroll. Naruto. Give it to me.” 

Iruka pulled out the kunai in his thigh with a violent heave and yelled, “Don’t let him have it Naruto! Protect that scroll with your life! It’s more dangerous than you can imagine! It holds a completely forbidden jutsu! Mizuki used you! He wants it for himself!”

Naruto stood from his previously relaxed position.

Mizuki laughed, “Naruto, even if you’ve read it, it will be meaningless! I can show you what it means!”

Iruka gasped, Mizuki couldn't be- 

“S-Shut up, you fool!” He yelled at Mizuki in desperation. 

“You know what  _ really  _ happened in the incident where the fox demon was defeated twelve years ago don’t you?” Mizuki asked smugly. “Since that incident. The people of our village have been bound by the strictest decree. That everyone knows about. Except you!” 

Naruto just stood in silence looking at Mizuki with cold hard eyes. 

Unnerved by those blue eyes Mizuki shouted, “You are the nine tailed fox! You are the one who killed-“

Suddenly Mizuki was cut off by a dark figure that leaped out of a neighboring tree.

Bang!

A bright flash bang went off, blinding Iruka and Mizuki. In an instant Mizuki was disarmed and subdued by a team of ANBU. 

Naruto walked over to a stunned Iruka who was gaping and trying to make sense of the situation. 

“Hey sensei? You okay? Those were some pretty nasty hits you took back there… Thank you, but I could have taken care of myself.” 

“N-Naruto?”

“It was a trap for Mizuki, Sensei. There’s no way I would be dumb enough to steal the forbidden scroll for him, you know?” 

“A-ah. That makes sense…” 

Naruto offered his shoulder to Iruka to lean on, “Let’s get you to a hospital now, okay Sensei?” 

“Y-yeah. But Naruto.” Iruka’s expression hardened and his face became stern.

“Hm?”

Iruka took Naruto’s face into his hands gently and looked him in the eyes, “I want you to know. You aren’t the demon fox. You are an excellent student and a citizen of Konoha. You are Uzumaki Naruto! I have nothing but respect for you who works so hard despite the hatred of the village!” 

Naruto smiled brightly at Iruka. “Thank you, Sensei.” He said softly. 

Back at the Sandaime’s office Naruto returned the old scroll to the man and bowed. 

“I’m sorry for using  _ that _ technique on you Hokage-sama but the scroll was necessary for the plan.” 

The old man coughed awkwardly from behind his desk, “Ah. No don’t mention it. I mean it. Don't mention it ever again.”

Initially when Naruto had appeared and informed the Sandaime of his plan the old man had been on board until the scroll was mentioned. The Sandaime wouldn’t allow the actual scroll to be used as bait for the operation. Inspired by a certain orange book on the Sandaime’s table Minato had performed a henge and taken the scroll anyways. He quite frankly needed what was in the scroll anyways, he had much to learn from the second Hokage’s fuinjutsu. 

“Anyways… do I graduate now?” 

“Ah yes. This has to be the strangest graduation I have ever witnessed.” 

The old man handed Naruto a headband and then laced his fingers in front of his face, settling on a grave expression. “ I had initially hoped to inform you of the Kyuubi once you attained the rank of chuunin. Unfortunately the circumstances have made it so that I must inform you of your status of Jinchuuriki now. This is why the villagers hate you so. They do not understand the difference between a kunai and the scroll it is sealed in. Please forgive them.” He lowered his head to Naruto. 

“Ah.” Naruto scratched the back of his head, “I already knew about the Kyuubi, it's just that you were so genuine about caring for me that I pretended not to know about it.”

“What?!” The Sandaime’s pipe dropped from his mouth. 

Naruto laced his fingers together behind his head and laughed at the old man, “It wasn’t as hard as working out who my parents were, you know?” 

“Ah. Of course. You are an intelligent child after all.” The old man sighed and covered his face with a hand. “Return to this office tomorrow for your Shinobi registration. Remember to go to the academy the day after for team assignments, there may be some last minute changes…” 

“Of course, old man.” 


	15. Team Days

The very next day Minato showed up at the Hokage tower bright and early. He took his picture for his form with minimal fuss and was soon sitting in front of the old Kage in a large open room to discuss his registration. 

The old man looked over his papers once more and nodded at Naruto. 

“It seems everything here is in order, thank you Naruto for completing everything on time and in an orderly fashion.”

Naruto tilted his head in acknowledgement, “Of course, old man. Did you need me for anything else?” 

“That shou-“

“On Guard, Old man!”

Suddenly the door to the room slammed open and a small figure darted into the room, shuriken in hand. 

A dark haired child dressed in a yellow tee-shirt with the leaf symbol on it, pale green shorts, and an oversized scarf charged at the old Kage. 

The child then promptly tripped over his own feet and face planted into the floor with a glorious thunk. A jounin dressed in a dark shirt and pants with a bandana hitai-ate on his head and round sunglasses ran into the room right after him. 

The child rolled on the floor crying out in pain. When he finally stopped thrashing around he sat up and said, “I got it! It’s a trap? Right?” 

The jounin that dashed in after him adjusted his glasses and asked worriedly, “A-Are you all right, Honored Grandson!? And, for the record, There are no traps here!” 

Minato didn’t recognize either of the two but the small child immediately pointed at Naruto and yelled, 

“Ahah! So you tripped me! It was you right?!”

Naruto sweat dropped, “You fell over your own feet…” he calmly replied. 

“Honored grandson we must leave immediately, you must not consort with the likes of him!” The tall jounin yelled, pulling on the child’s scarf to lead him out of the room. 

Minato put on a polite smile. Ah. So the Jounin was one of those people. 

The child struggled against the scarf, seemingly used to such treatment. “No! I’m not leaving until I beat the old man!”

Naruto watched in bemusement as the child was slowly hauled out of the room by the Jounin. 

The Sandaime sighed and covered his face, “My apologies Naruto, that was my grandson Konohamaru’s twentieth attempt on my life today. Ebisu tries to reign him in but it doesn’t always work out.” 

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the man, his own grandson was after his life? 

“A-ah. No problem… Is there anything else you needed from me?” 

“No, we are about done here. Have a nice day Naruto.” 

“Yeah, you too old man.” 

Leaving the Hokage tower, Naruto dithered in front of the building for a while deciding on what to do for the rest of the day. There wasn't too much he had to do. All his chores had been taken care of by shadow clones and his preparations for any tests after team placements had finished. Leaning on a pole and watching villagers walk by, Minato idly wondered who would be assigned as his Jounin instructor.

Shrugging to himself Minato decided he would get some extra training in. More training was always good after all. He set off at a brisk clip in the direction of training grounds 44. 

Even without using his enhanced chakra sensing abilities Minato soon detected a clumsy presence following behind him. He turned to look behind him since whoever was following him obviously couldn't be a ninja. Their steps were simply too loud and obvious. He caught a glimpse of Konohamaru just before the child drew up a sheet of camouflage and covered himself with it. 

Minato was a bit bewildered by this turn of events. Why was Konohamaru following him? Was he going through a rebellious phase and doing exactly what he was told not to do? 

Minato walked up to the sheet, he noted that it was held so that the pattern was sideways to the wooden wall behind Konohamaru and tapped on it. 

“So Konohamaru-kun, can I help you with anything?”

The child smugly lowered the sheet, “So you managed to see through my disguise huh? The rumors of your abilities don't lie!”

Minato scratched the back of his head nervously, there were rumors? He’d been careful when training though? He made sure no one was around before doing anything too crazy… Had he slipped up somehow? 

“Ah no, you were holding the camouflage sheet the wrong way… And what do you mean by rumors?” 

Konohamaru looked down at his sheet and blushed as he saw it was indeed the wrong orientation. He threw the sheet away and pointed dramatically at Naruto. 

“I heard you beat my grandpa with one technique! You gotta teach me that! I’ll allow you to take me on as your disciple! So teach me your skills! Boss!” 

Minato laughed nervously. There was no way he could teach a kid to do what he had done to the Hokage. Kushina would kill him in the afterlife for having come up with the idea in the first place. There was no telling what would happen to him if he taught a child the same trick… 

“I’m sorry but that technique was an exclusive technique. I’m not allowed to teach it to anyone no matter what.” 

“What! No way! Please? Pretty please Boss? Please teach me something?” 

Minato stared at the bouncing kid in front of him, he was distantly reminded of a young Obito. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day anyways… Playing along with Konohamaru couldn't be too bad he supposed. “Ahh… Well… I can’t teach you the secret technique but I can teach you some Shinobi tricks I guess.”

“What! Really!? You’ll teach me stuff? You’re the best Boss!” 

The Sandaime watched as Ebisu ran off in search of Konohamaru again after the child had escaped during one of his lectures. He sighed. He seemed to be sighing a lot these days… He was getting too old for this job. He wished Minato were still alive so that he could return to enjoying his retirement. Considering the new generation and all their problems made him want to eat his pipe. All these issues should have been Minato’s to deal with. Except the man had gone and sacrificed himself for the sake of Konoha. 

Hiruzen sighed again as he considered Konohamaru’s behavior again. The boy was being ruined by the village’s over indulgence. His ceaseless surprise attacks were harmless but a menace to deal with. At least the boy had gone after Naruto who seemed to have his head screwed on right. Hopefully some of Naruto’s composure and common sense would rub off on Konohamaru. Naruto would no doubt be extremely responsible and wouldn’t take him on any hare brained schemes. 

Meanwhile Minato was considering teaching Konohamaru how to play pranks on paranoid Shinobi. It would be fun to have an apprentice in the arts of undetected pranking. The boy had quickly picked up on his stealth tips and was now sneaking around in training ground 23, which was a generic forested environment, trying to avoid detection. Konohamaru was doing better than Minato thought he would. 

“Alright Konohamaru! You can come out now!” He yelled into the forest. 

Konohamaru tumbled out a bush to Naruto’s left, “Yosh! Boss! What next?!” 

“I thought we could take a quick break for a while! I'll treat you to something at the vending machine. Come on!” 

Konohamaru happily chased after Naruto who led him back to a clearing with a small vending machine in the corner. The two boys picked out their respective beverages and took a seat on a fallen log in a distance away from the vending machine. 

Minato let Konohamaru drink in peace for a while before he asked the question that had been on his mind. 

“Say Konohamaru, what is your problem with your grandpa? Why do you want to beat him so bad?” 

Konohamaru finished his drink and stared at the can with a solemn expression. 

“My name… My Grandfather named me Konohamaru. Like the village right? He said it would bring luck. But even though. The whole village knows thats my name. No one ever calls me that. ” 

The can in Konohamaru’s grip crumpled a bit. “It’s always just ‘Honored Grandson’. No one sees me for who I am. Just who I’m related to. And I hate it! You’re different though! Just like Four eyes sensei said!” 

Konohamaru looked up at Naruto with a determined expression, “But it’ll be different when I become Hokage. And that’s gonna be real soon!” 

Minato considered Konohamaru’s words for a bit. He idly wondered if his son would have felt the same way if he had grown up under the Namikaze name had he lived. Then he sighed and said, 

“You know that's not what Hokage is about, right? Hokage is an important position where you are in charge of the well being of every member of the village. It’s not about the acknowledgement of the people but the responsibility of the role. You don't become Hokage to earn acknowledgement, you become Hokage because others acknowledge you. Besides.”

Minato patted Konohamaru on the shoulder and smiled at him. “I’m going to become Hokage first!” 

“There you are!” A voice called out from amongst the trees. 

Suddenly Ebisu was there in the branches, glaring at Naruto. 

Minato sighed at the look he received and smiled politely back. 

Ebisu scoffed and hopped down from the tree branches. “Honored Grandson, it's time to return home.”

Konohamaru jumped up from the log, “No way! Not yet! First I have to kick the old man's butt and become the next Hokage! So get lost!” 

Ebisu began walking towards Konohamaru, intent on dragging the boy home. “The Hokage knows and understands the eight principles that are the cornerstones of all knowledge of shinobi virtue. Justice, ceremony, wisdom, loyalty, faithfulness, prudence, and filial piety! He is a master of over a thousand jutsu and I can take you there! All you have to do is stick with me and you will have a shortcut to Hokage!” 

Konohamaru promptly dashed away into the trees leaving behind a ranting Ebisu. 

“Blast it! He’s off again!” 

Ebisu quickly gave chase, he found that it wasn't as easy as it was to catch Konohamaru now as it was earlier that morning. 

Soon enough though, Ebisu was dragging Konohamaru back through the clearing by his scarf while yelling, “Honored Grandson! Do not be learning from creatures like him! He will only drag you down to his level! Come! We shall go home now!” 

Minato calmly walked up to Ebisu and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey Ebisu-san? How about we have a bet?”

Ebisu paused in tugging on Konohamaru’s scarf and adjusted his glasses, “A bet?” 

“If you can catch me within an hour I will stay away from Konohamaru and he goes home with you quietly. But if you can’t then he is free to do what he wants for the rest of the day and I can visit him in his free time.”

Ebisu struck a pose, preparing hand signs. “Hah! Child's play! You are no match for a superior teacher like myself! I will take you up on this bet!” 

Minato smiled ominously. “Good… Now then, we begin!” With those words Minato vanished in a shunpo leaving no evidence as to where he went. 

Ebisu gaped in place for a moment, stunned by the speed of Naruto’s technique. He quickly collected himself and set off to track Naruto down. 

An hour later and Ebisu was panting and covered in a variety of substances, ranging from different colored paints, feathers, glitter, confetti, to toilet paper. The short moment that he had spent gaping was a few vital seconds that Minato had to rig up a few traps for anyone looking for him. The chase had devolved into a trapping course that Ebisu was hard pressed to navigate. 

The man collapsed on the ground, utterly spent as he conceded his defeat. 

“Blast it! I failed to defeat Four eyes sensei again!” Konohamaru cried out. “All I want is a name everyone will respect and I want it right now!” 

Minato ruffled Konohamaru’s hair fondly, “Haha! you think wanting is all it takes? Hokage means commitment! There’s no shortcuts.” 

Konohamaru stood frozen as he thought back to Naruto's words before Ebisu showed up, then he slapped away Naruto’s hand, “Shut up! How come you get to lecture me? He pointed at Naruto with an accusing finger, “I’ve decided! I won't be your disciple! I'll be your rival!” 

Minato smiled fondly at the child and ruffled his hair again much to Konohamaru’s annoyance, “Aah. But I'll be taking a step ahead first alright? But one day let’s fight over the name of Kage together!” 

Minato woke up the next day with a soft smile on his face. He would be getting his team today. 

He put on his mesh armor undershirt and dressed up in a new jacket that was mostly black with navy blue sleeves and a white hood. He put on his standard shinobi pants and sandals. He tied his new Hitai-ate on his forehead and strapped his kunai and shuriken pouches on. 

Feeling thoroughly prepared Minato made breakfast and ate with gusto. He made his way to the academy cheerily. Looking into the classroom he noticed not many students had arrived yet. He walked in and gave a nod of acknowledgement to Sasuke and sat next to him. Minato pulled out a book on sealing from his pouch and settled in to wait for the rest of the class to show up. 

When Shikamaru arrived he was about to walk past Naruto to sit at the back of the room like usual, when he paused and did a double take at Naruto. 

“Hey, Naruto I thought you failed? You walked out of the room without a Hitai-ate.” 

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, “Ah there were special circumstances but I passed.” 

“Huh. Well okay, if you say so.” Shikamaru said as he shrugged. 

Once again Naruto settled in to wait for the rest of the class to arrive. 

Suddenly there was a sound of a great stampede approaching. Sasuke groaned to himself and laced his fingers in front of his face. Minato looked at the boy curiously as the sounds of the commotion drew nearer. The door slammed open and Sakura and Ino squeezed their way through the entrance simultaneously. They were both panting heavily and slightly disheveled but they perked up the moment they laid eyes on Sasuke. Sakura barreled over Naruto to sit next to Sasuke who was subtly sweating and shooting desperate glances at Naruto. 

Naruto could only shrug helplessly at Sasuke as he straightened himself up. Ino fumed and picked a seat to the right of Sasuke. 

Soon enough Iruka walked in and the class slowly quieted at his presence. He took up his spot at the front of the class room and began, 

“From this day forward you are no longer students, but full fledged Shinobi. But even amount the ranks of Shinobi you are the lowest of the low, you are mere genin and simple novices. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead.” He waved the clipboard he held in his hand around. “The next step to your career is to divide you all into three-man cells. Each team will be supervised and mentored by a Jounin. These Jounin will serve to guide you as you become familiar with your various duties and missions. Selections have been made so that each cell’s abilities would be approximately equal. Now beginning with team one who is…”

Minato then zoned out as Iruka droned on about the different teams. He was struck by a bout of nostalgia as he considered the first genin team he had ever received. It was such a shock learning he had been assigned to one of the three great Sannin…

“Next, team number seven, Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke!”

Minato smiled, so he would be team seven again huh? He hoped that Kakashi was doing well… 

Kiba stood up in protest, “Hey how come I get the team with all the dudes!?”

“Kiba! You have the worst grades of the class while Naruto and Sasuke are ranked at the top! The idea was to balance the teams and your abilities! This is all done to match your abilities with those of your jounin sensei! That's why you are together!”

Kiba huffed a breath and sat back down as Iruka continued with his assignments. Making team eight Sakura, Hinata, and Shino and team ten the classic Ino-shika-cho combo. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t with any of his fangirls… And Naruto was pretty strong so that should cancel out Kiba some what. Sakura and Ino both wilted as they realized their chances with Sasuke had lowered. 

“Your jounin senseis will be introducing themselves this afternoon. So please return here after lunch! Until then you are dismissed!” Iruka said. 

Naruto turned to Sasuke and asked, “Do you want to eat lunch together today?”

Sasuke grunted in return so Naruto took that as a yes. Minato then turned to look for Kiba, who was at the back of the room sulking. 

To Kiba, it simply wasn’t fair that Shino got a team with a bunch of girls while he was shoved into a team with Naruto and the asshole. Naruto was decent but he couldn't stand Sasuke! 

Naruto walked up to Kiba and asked, 

“Hey, Kiba? Wanna eat lunch with me and Sasuke?” 

“Hmph. Fine.” 

The Sandaime and Kakashi both walked into a small apartment on the outskirts of Konoha. It was an out of the way apartment building that was slowly falling into disrepair. Cracks went along the walls and mold was growing in the corners. 

“So he doesn’t live here anymore?” 

“No, he used to live here and then he moved to his parent’s house a few years back.” The Sandaime took a puff of his pipe. “I don’t think we could break into Minato and Kushina’s seals so this was the next best thing for you to get a glimpse into his personality.”

“Aah. That was a good call.” 

Kakashi wandered around the small apartment looking around, he was glad that Naruto was no longer living here. It wasn’t the greatest of places to live. He also noted that it was still fully furnished so that someone could return to living in it at anytime. The rooms were perfectly clean and organized, it seemed obvious that Naruto hadn't been living here for a while. It seemed Naruto was just as meticulous as his father. 

What Kakashi did find interesting about the apartment were the fading signs of fuinjutsu wards on the walls. So Naruto knew some fuinjutsu huh? He was really taking after his parents after all. 

“He’s a responsible child, very well behaved according to his academy teachers. Didn’t stand out too much in classes though, you should have the easiest time with him.” The Sandaime said watching Kakashi walk through the apartment. “Another member of your team will be Uchiha Sasuke. Come. Let’s go look at his room in the Uchiha compound.” 

Kakashi nodded and followed the Sandaime out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. 

As they walked through the streets of Konoha in the direction of the Uchiha compound Kakashi asked the Sandaime, 

“So what inspired this last minute team change? I thought I was supposed to have Haruno Sakura?” 

“Taking into account the specialities of each Jounin teacher, it was decided that Sakura with her high charka control would be better suited under a genjutsu mistress like Kurenai. Kiba would also learn better under your instruction, Kakashi, as you have experience in training ninken.”

“I see…” ‘Kurenai must have been overjoyed to hear of this change’ Kakashi thought sullenly. 

The rest of the walk was spent in a calm silence as both the Sandaime and Kakashi simply enjoyed the quiet. 

Having reached the compound’s largest house, Kakshi knocked on the door and was met by a tired Izumi. 

“Hello Izumi-san, how are you?” The Sandaime said. 

“Ah. Sandaime-sama? Kakashi-san? What can I do for you today?” 

Kakashi waved at her casually, “Yo.” 

“Kakashi just wanted to see the rooms of his genin so he could get a measure of their personalities. Please excuse us for a moment.” 

“Oh of course please come in.” 

“Sorry for the intrusion.” Said Kakashi as he walked in. 

Sasuke’s room was similar to Naruto’s apartment in that it was perfectly clean and organized. There were a few books and scrolls on fire Justus that were stacked on his nightstand and a few wall scrolls. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to say about the room other than the fact that it belonged to a generic Uchiha due to the many fan symbols scattered around the room. 

“I’m kinda surprised he decided to continue living here…” Kakashi said to the Sandaime. 

“Indeed. I was as well. Though I suppose it helps that many of the survivors are living in the same house now.” 

“Ah, that's right.” 

“Keep a close eye on Sasuke will you? He has been asking about the Massacre recently.”

“I see…”

“I would have assigned him to Izumi, but Izumi decided she would rather continue taking missions for awhile before becoming a jounin teacher to some of the even younger Uchiha.” 

“I understand.” 

The two men then paid their respects to Izumi as they left to the Inuzuka compound. 

At the Inuzuka compound the Sandaime and Kakashi were accosted by Tsume and forced into having a cup of tea before visiting Kiba’s room. The boy’s room was surprisingly clean, it was to be expected from having a mother like Tsume. Though there was a rather messy hamper in the corner. There was a small dog bed in the corner of the room and a few dog toys on it. The walls were covered in posters and various pictures of members of the Inuzuka clan. 

The Sandaime and Kakashi bid goodbye to Tsume and continued their talk in a park with a few drinks from a convenient vending machine. 

“Best of luck Kakashi, you will have quite the team if they pass your test.” 

Kakashi nodded at the Sandaime. 

“Why exactly did you assign me these three as a team though, Sandaime-sama?”

“I believe that these children have great potential. I also believe in you Kakashi, just like Minato. It’s all about the right man for the right job.” The Sandaime took a sip of his canned coffee. “Rivalry matures people as well, Sasuke will push Kiba to do better, Kiba will one day teach Sasuke the importance of team work as he understands the pack better than anyone else. Naruto will act as the glue to keep the two together.” 

“Is that so…”

“To believe in and watch over one’s student is also part of being a teacher, Kakashi.” The Sandaime set his can down. “Now I believe it's about time for you to meet your team. No?” 

“Maa… Well they can wait a while longer I have somewhere to visit.” 

The Sandaime smiled at Kakashi wryly and stood to return to his paperwork. 

Back at the academy Minato was waiting with an impatient Kiba and Sasuke wondering just which jounin was so irresponsible in their duties to leave their genin waiting for so long. He himself had been extremely excited when he received his first genin and showed up rather early to meet them. He was mildly disappointed when Obito had arrived rather late but it was still forgivable as he was a genin. A Jounin sensei arriving late though? Not so much. 

“Ahhh… They’re late they’re late!” Kiba yelled, ruffling his hair. Akamaru barked to show his agreement. 

“Calm down Kiba, I’m sure they’ll be here soon…” Naruto replied. It had been three hours past lunch and each passing second had only increased Kiba’s ire. Sasuke merely brooded harder in the corner as time passed. Naruto thankfully had a book with him to read while waiting. 

A few more minutes passed before Naruto sensed a distantly familiar signature approaching the academy at a slow lope. 

He straightened and said to Sasuke and Kiba, “Ah, they're here…” 

Soon enough a tall lanky Jounin pushed open the door. He was wearing the standard Jounin uniform with navy shirt, pants, and flak vest. He also had a face mask that covered the lower half of his face and a tilted hitai-ate that covered his left eye. 

‘Kakashi? Why was he so late? He’s usually early to everything… Has he changed since I died?’ Minato thought to himself. 

Kakashi looked at the three students who were watching him expectantly, he hummed and said, “Based on my first impression of you guys… You guys bore me.” 

Minato sweat dropped. Kiba snarled. Sasuke brooded harder. 

“Meet me on the roof in five minutes.” Kakashi said before disappearing in a poof of smoke. 

And so the trio of boys gathered on the roof of the academy. Kakashi was sitting on the railing so the three boys sat in a line in front of him. 

“Now, I’d like you all to tell us something about yourselves,”  
Kakashi said as the three boys got settled in. 

“Like what?” Kiba asked sullenly. 

“You know, like the usual. Favorite things… Dislikes… Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that.” 

“Why don't you go first then.” Kiba said. 

Sasuke nodded along with Kiba. Naruto just stared fondly at Kakashi. Minato was glad that his student would be teaching him, he would have liked Kakashi to teach his actual son but this was fine too. He would be able to ask Kakashi to teach him the rasengan and thus have an excuse to use the technique. He hadn’t left many notes on the rasengan and thus couldn’t really say that he’d learned it from his own notes. 

“Oh me?” Kakashi scratched his mask dully, “My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… well they’re none of your business… I have lots of hobbies I guess…” 

Kiba and Sasuke sweat dropped at the dull introduction while Naruto smiled at Kakashi. 

“Now it's your turn, let's start with you on the right.” 

Minato started and pointed at himself in question before beginning, “My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ichiraku ramen, training, fuinjutsu, and my friends. I dislike traitors and rumors. My dream is to one day become a great hunter nin and eventually take the position of Hokage. My hobbies are pranks and training.” 

Kakashi gave no reaction to the introduction and simply said, “Next!”

Sasuke grunted and then spoke “My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I have a lot of dislikes. I like my family. I have an ambition and that is to learn the truth one day. My hobby is training.”

“And finally, you. Dog boy.”

Kiba bared his teeth at Kakashi before he said, “I’m Inuzuka Kiba, I like dogs, girls, and my family. I dislike assholes and stuck up pricks,” At this he sent a sharp glare at Sasuke “My dream is to become a strong Shinobi worthy of the Inuzuka clan and to become Hokage! My hobbies are playing with Akamaru and training I guess.” 

“Alright that’s enough.” Kakashi crossed his arms “I believe we all understand each other. Training starts tomorrow. Our first mission is a survival exercise.”

“What like the ones we did in class?” Asked Kiba. 

“It's not your typical exercise. You’ll have to survive against me.” Kakashi then snickered to himself. 

Kiba looked confused and yelled “Hey! What’s so funny about a survival exercise?” 

Kakashi merely waved his hand and said, “Oh, it's nothing. If I told you, you would chicken out.”

Kiba tilted his head while Naruto smiled knowingly “Chicken out? Why?” Kiba asked. 

Kakashi leaned against his hand, “The test we are about to perform has a 66% chance of failure. Of the twenty seven members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be sent back to the academy.”

Kiba’s jaw dropped, Sasuke’s sweating increased and Naruto didn’t react. 

Kakashi laughed at them while Kiba protested furiously. “Wait! What about our graduation? What was that all about then?” 

“Oh! We eliminated all the hopeless ones. The ones left over are the ones that have the potential to make it as genin.” Kakashi crossed his arms again. “In any case. We’ll meet tomorrow at five am at training grounds seven so I can evaluate your skills and weaknesses. Bring all your tools and weapons. Also, don't have breakfast before hand… Unless you enjoy throwing up. Don’t be late!” 

With that all said and done Kakashi promptly vanished in another poof of smoke. 

Kakashi was much more sadistic it seemed. Naruto quickly turned to Sasuke and Kiba and said, “No matter what, eat breakfast tomorrow. You will need the energy and it's better to have eaten and throw up than it is to fight on an empty stomach.” 

Kiba snorted, “As if my mom would let me leave the house without eating breakfast.”

Sasuke nodded in agreement, Izumi was fierce when she wanted to be, and she wasn't a morning person. 

And thus the three boys separated for the day to prepare for the test ahead of them.


	16. Test Days

Naruto sighed as he waited at training ground seven impatiently. Training ground seven was a smaller train grounds that Minato often used with his old team seven. It had a river that ran through it that was helpful for water jutsu and practicing water walking. The distinct feature of the training ground was the three wooden pillars in the middle of it and the KIA memorial off to the side. 

Kakashi was horribly late again. It had been four hours since the agreed upon meeting time. Kiba had long since given up on waiting for the man and was napping peacefully under a tree with Akamaru laying on top of him. Sasuke simply sat on the ground near Naruto brooding as usual. 

In fact, Kakashi was so late that Minato had had time to visit the memorial stone and pay his respects to Kushina. He’d stared at his own name on the stone for a while, he had an impulse to add Naruto’s name to it while crossing his own name out. But he had refrained as the village would most likely lynch him for the disrespect. No one would understand the meaning behind it anyways. 

Minato sighed again, he finally felt Kakashi’s signature in one of the trees. First he arrives late and then he hides to observe his students’ reactions? The man had really grown to be slightly sadistic, especially since he had told them not to eat breakfast originally. 

Minato sat and waited even longer with his friends as Kakashi casually observed them. Another hour passed before the man finally jumped down from the tree and showed himself. 

“Yo!” Kakashi waved coolly. 

Naruto just sighed and walked over to Kiba, nudging him with his foot to wake him up while Sasuke stood up huffily. 

Kiba leapt to his feet and shouted, “You're late!” At Kakashi. 

“Maa… Sorry about that. You see… A black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around.” 

Minato sweat dropped, so Kakashi was even stealing Obito’s excuses? It wasn't healthy for him to be dwelling on the past like that… 

Kakashi then took out an alarm clock and set it on the middle stump. 

“I’ve set this alarm to go off at noon.” He said as he took out two small bells that Minato recognized immediately. “I have two bells here, your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer ends. Anyone who fails… Doesn’t get any lunch. Instead you will be tied to that tree stump.” Kakashi pointed at the stump he set the timer on, “So we can eat your lunch in front of you. Also, the one that fails will be the first to be sent back to the academy as a disgrace.” 

Minato smiled wryly as he once again thanked himself for telling the others to eat breakfast. 

“You can use shuriken, attack with the intent to kill or you won’t stand a chance.” Kakashi continued. 

“Heh. Be careful what you ask for or you might get seriously hurt!” Said Kiba cockily. “Isn’t that right Akamaru?” 

Akamaru yapped in agreement and growled at Kakashi in preparation. 

“Only the weak speak loudly, Now lets forget the dobe and we’ll start on my signal.” Kakashi deadpanned. 

Kiba grew a tick mark and charged with his claws out at Kakashi while growling. 

In an instant Kakashi was behind Kiba with a hand at his neck.

“Not so fast. I didn’t say to start yet…” 

Sasuke and Akamaru leapt back from the Jounin, shocked at his speed while Naruto’s smile broadened. 

“Well at least one of you has the intent to kill. It seems you’ve begun to respect me. I might just come to like you guys…” 

Kakashi released Kiba and let him stumble back. “And now… Ready… Steady… Go!!”

Instantly all four Shinobi disappeared from the clearing. 

Minato was rather conflicted. He wanted to test Kakashi and see how far his student had come, but he couldn't really explain where he’d learned some of his skills if he went full out. He was also conflicted because he knew the true meaning of the bell test since he had given Kakashi the same test in the past. 

Kakashi’s team had passed when Kakashi had used his teammates as distractions to nab a bell from him. But Minato had chosen to believe in Kakashi, he trusted that Kakashi would eventually understand the value of teamwork. It was clear that Kakashi had taken the lesson to heart if he was using the same old test on his own genin team. 

Minato pondered. He could tell the others what they needed to do to pass, but then how would they grow on their own if he kept coddling them? Ah well… There were two hours for the test. Plenty of time for the others to work out that the test was impossible on their own. Also plenty of time to test Kakashi a bit. 

Meanwhile Kakashi stood at the edge of the river rubbing the back of his neck. He looked around himself and considered his students hiding skills. All three were well hidden, in fact one of them had completely erased their presence. Kakashi yawned and covered his mouth, he wondered who would attack him first. Probably Kiba… That kid was the most hot headed out of the bunch. 

In fact just as Kakashi had that thought a grey blur dashed out of the bushes to his left and charged straight at him. 

Kakashi just calmly rummaged in his pouch for a bit. Kiba backed off immediately from his head long charge, thinking that Kakashi was going to pull out a weapon. 

He was sorely confused when Kakashi revealed that it was just a book.

“Let me teach you. Your first Shinobi skill. Taijutsu!” The man declared as he opened the book with a flourish. 

Minato smacked himself in the face as he saw the brightly colored orange cover. His student was a fan of that series? How much had Kakashi changed since his death? 

Kiba gaped at Kakashi, “Is that… Just a book?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Is something wrong? I thought you were coming for me after all. And of course it's a book. I've been dying to figure out how this thing ends. Carry on. It shouldn’t make any difference in the end.” Kakashi said, turning a page as he ignored the boy standing in front of him. 

Kiba twitched slightly. He dropped into a crouch. “I’m gonna kill you!” He yelled. “I might have been the dobe, but I was always one of the best at taijutsu!” 

Kiba rushed at Kakashi and leapt into the air kicking out at Kakshi’s head. Kakashi caught the boy’s leg with one hand but Kiba rotated his body so that he could kick out at Kakashi again. Kakashi let go of the boy’s leg and ducked underneath the second kick, all while still reading his book. Kiba landed on the ground and spun into a Gatsuga, rushing at Kakashi in a whirl of sharp claws. Kakashi sidestepped out of the way and turned a page in his book, dodging a small Akamaru that barreled out of the bushes as he went. Kiba crashed into the ground sending chunks of dirt flying everywhere. He quickly turned back to where Kakashi stood only to find the man missing. 

Kakshi was crouched behind Kiba with his hands in a tiger seal. 

Minato panicked for a bit before forcibly calming himself, Kakashi wouldn’t use a fire jutsu on a genin. 

Sasuke also froze in shock as he realized what Kakashi could possibly do to Kiba. 

“You shouldn’t let the enemy get behind you so easily, you know?” Kakashi said casually.

“Eh!?” 

Kiba didn’t turn quite quickly enough. 

Kakashi lunged forwards, his eye shining with evil mischief. 

“Konohagakure ultimate secret taijutsu technique! One thousand years of death!” 

Kiba was sent screaming into the river holding his butt. 

Minato covered his face in embarrassment. He never thought he would see Obito’s dumb prank ressurected like this. Though he supposed it was a super effective move on silly genin like Kiba. 

Sasuke was busy re-evaluating his opinion of his new teacher. 

Kiba flipped and skidded on the water fuming, he wouldn’t let it end like this! 

Kakashi was shocked at the display of skill from the almost genin. They had learned water walking already? Well that was one less thing to teach… 

Kiba threw a brace of kunai at Kakashi and charged at the man. Kakashi caught the first thrown kunai and used it to deflect the rest of the projectiles. He sidestepped Kiba’s wild swing and swerved around Akamaru’s lunge. Kiba pivoted in place and tossed a food pill at Akamaru. Akamaru chomped on the pill and abruptly transformed into a copy of Kiba. Both Kiba’s simultaneously swung at Kakashi from different angles, Kakashi deflected both swings with casual swipes of his hand. 

As the fight dragged on Kiba’s actions got sloppier, his moves became extremely predictable and Akamaru was tiring quickly leading to less effective team ups. Soon enough Kiba was panting, exhausted on the ground with no bell. Kakashi patted the boy on the head condescendingly and smiled at him. Then he vanished in a poof of smoke to find Sasuke and Naruto. 

Kakashi stumbled upon Sasuke first. The boy was prepared and waiting for him in a clearing. 

“Oh ho. So confident Sasuke?” Kakashi asked, seeing Sasuke’s stance. 

“Hmph, I’m not like that dobe.” Sasuke retorted. 

“Save your boasts until you’ve gotten a bell, Sasuke. Second lesson of Shinobi tactics… Genjutsu.”

Sasuke watched as Kakashi vanished in a flurry of leaves. He frantically looked around the clearing to find no signs of life. Suddenly he heard a rustling coming from the bushes on his right. Sasuke readied a kunai, preparing to throw, when suddenly Izumi stumbled out of the bushes. She was covered in gruesome wounds and bleeding profusely. It her left leg was twisted in the wrong direction and her right arm was cut off by the elbow. She reached for Sasuke with her remaining arm and croaked out a weak “Help me Sasuke…” before collapsing. 

Sasuke shook. Completely frozen in place. He swung his kunai down wards and stabbed himself in the thigh. He panted harshly as he violently broke out of the terrible genjutsu. He glared venomously at Kakashi who was standing there with an awkward expression. 

Sasuke threw a kunai that cut through a rope, unleashing a salvo of short knives upon Kakashi from his right side. Kakashi hurriedly kawarimied with a branch just as Sasuke rushed at him. Sasuke charged at Kakashi with a roar and swung his kunai at the man viciously. Kakashi frantically pulled out his own kunai and blocked the attack but Sasuke didn’t let up and unleashed a furious salvo of thrusts and slashes, completely ignoring the bells. Kakashi was pushed back by the angry assault, he didn’t even have time to pull out his book. Sasuke swept at Kakashi’s legs with a low kick which Kakshi dodged by jumping into the air. Sasuke quickly took advantage of the fact that Kakashi couldn't dodge and threw his kunai into the air after the man. Without a single hand sign Kakashi smoothly kawarimied with a nearby log and disappeared into the forest. 

Sasuke roared in frustration as Kakashi vanished and took out his anger on the log. He reduced the log into a couple of splinters and dashed after the man. 

Kakashi realized he’d messed up big time using the hell viewing technique on a massacre survivor, but it meant that Sasuke would need further training on resisting and breaking genjutsu. He fled from Sasuke looking for Naruto as he dashed through the forest. He still hadn’t sensed his third student and he was worried about potential surprise attacks. He was already impressed by the skills Sasuke and Kiba had showed but there had yet to be any actual teamwork. Now it was time to test his final student. 

Hearing the faint whistle of kunai Kakashi leapt to the side, before Naruto greeted his face with a harsh kick from the opposite direction of the kunai. 

Taken off guard by the trap Kakashi was off balance as Naruto unleashed a brutal taijutsu combo upon him. Blocking messily was all Kakashi could do to avoid being pummeled by a small yet ferocious blond. 

Naruto flipped through hand signs and Kakashi’s eyes widened as he recognized the Jutsu that Naruto was preparing to unleash. Naruto inhaled and released a great bullet of wind at Kakashi just as a gout of flame exploded from the forest behind Kakashi. Stuck between a rock and a hot place, Kakashi chose the less damaging of the two jutsu and took the wind bullet head on while avoiding Sasuke’s flames. Kakashi crashed into a tree as Sasuke arrived on the scene with a panting Kiba and a wobbling Akamaru. 

The three boys glanced at each other briefly before nodding at each other. They charged at Kakashi, who was still struggling to recover, from different directions and began their assault. Kiba and Akamaru went low as Sasuke went high and Kakashi was pressed back up against the tree. Naruto hung back to provide backup or take advantage of any openings that might happen. 

It was time to end this test. Kakashi had become overly dependent on Obito’s Sharingan, that much was clear to Minato. It seemed that Kakashi was slacking on his own training a bit now that he had the Sharingan at his disposal. Minato would beat it into Kakashi’s head that he couldn't afford to stop training his non Sharingan related skills. 

Both of the attacking boys were suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke as Kakashi threw down a smoke bomb to gain some breathing room. When the smoke had cleared Kakashi was nowhere to be found. 

Paranoid, Kiba instantly turned and put his back to Sasuke’s who was looking in all directions. Both boys were caught unprepared as Kakashi’s hands burst out of the ground. Two strangled shouts came from them as they were pulled into the ground up to their necks. 

“Whew” Kakashi said as he climbed out of the ground. “Shinobi lesson number three, ninjutsu.” He turned to Naruto, who was standing awkwardly behind the two heads and asked, “Now, Naruto… What will you do now that I’ve taken down your two teammates?” 

Naruto smiled cheekily at Kakashi, “Well normally I would do my best to get them out in order to continue the nice four versus one we had going…” He let the bells he had grabbed dangle from his fingers. “But in this instance I’m going to give them the bells since your test was all about teamwork.” 

Kakashi patted his pocket. Sure enough, the bells were gone. 

“What? When did- How did you?” 

“When you threw that smoke bomb, Sensei.” Said Minato, placing a bell on each of the two heads stuck up from the ground. 

Kakashi placed a hand on his face, of course. He should have been more wary of Naruto who had a full view of the battle field. 

“Well then, let's reconvene at the three training posts.” Kakashi said cheerfully. The he disappeared leaving Naruto to dig out both Kiba and Sasuke. 

Naruto stared in silence at the two head for a bit, debating on leaving them there to dig themselves out, before he finally sighed and said, “You two owe me for this okay?” 

Both grounded boys nodded sullenly as Minato began digging them out with a kunai. Akamaru provided encouragement from the sidelines. 

Back at the training posts no one was tied up at the stump since they had all technically earned a bell. 

“I have an announcement about this exercise.” Said Kakshi as the boys stared at him expectantly. “None of you will be going back to the academy since thanks to Naruto you all earned a bell. Now say, ‘Thank you Naruto’ you two.” 

Sasuke and Kiba both mumbled their thanks quietly. Naruto beamed at them. 

Kakashi continued with his speech after the thanks had been given, “Like Naruto said, this test was about teamwork, it was only when the three of you came at me as one that you had a chance of taking the bells. This situation was designed to cause dissection and make you fight amongst yourselves but you overcame that partially due to a shared animosity of me. This test was about seeing which of you was willing to give up their chance to become a Shinobi and propose the idea of working together to one another. You are a team and you must learn to act like one just as you did in those last moments. Your individual skills are important but what is even more important to you as genin is teamwork!” Kakashi walked up to the trio and patted them on the heads, “Making a play as an individual is bad for the team and exposes your comrades to unnecessary danger.” Kakashi then gestured to the memorial stone behind the wooden pillars. “Look at this marker. All the names carved here are heroes who have died in action for the sake of our village. It includes the names of my best friends.” Kakashi paused for a moment as he and Minato mourned Rin and Obito silently. “I want you three to understand. Ninja are those who must see through deception. Also, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are regarded as garbage, but… Those who abandon their friends are worse than garbage. 

Minato smiled at hearing Obito’s words once more. Kakashi had obviously been heavily affected by Obito’s death and was using it to inspire and better himself. 

Kiba had watery eyes, this lazy looking guy ended up being kinda cool after all… 

Sasuke merely grunted. He could accept the Jounin’s words for what they were. He wouldn’t be forgiving him for that genjutsu anytime soon though. 

“This exercise is now over! You all pass! That's all for today, team seven, your missions will commence tomorrow!” Kakashi then produced three lunch boxes and handed them to the freshly minted genin. “Here! For all your hard work. Now eat up.” He said. 

Kiba cheered wildly as Akamaru barked happily around him. Sasuke had a small smirk on and Naruto was grinning broadly. The trio dug into their lunch with gusto as Kakashi watched with an eye curved up in happiness. 

The boys chatted happily as they ate. Well, Kiba and Naruto chatted while Sasuke listened. 

Kiba invited both boys over to the Inuzuka compound for dinner to celebrate becoming genin. Naruto gratefully accepted and prodded Sasuke into coming. 

Kakashi was pleased that his team was coming together so quickly. He’d been worried initially over being assigned three stubborn boys but both Kiba and Naruto seemed to understand the importance of working together. Kiba had an inherent understanding of pack. Naruto was naturally helpful and liked assisting others. Sasuke would come around in no time. 

All three boys were also very skilled at taijutsu and just needed to further their training with Jutsu and begin to find specialties. Kakashi would begin tracking lessons with Naruto and Kiba soon, he could give Sasuke Jutsu to practice while he trained the other two’s senses. He would have to find a way to apologize to Sasuke and bring up the issue of enemies potentially using the massacre against him. He could probably also get away with only a few teamwork exercises and then begin training the genin individually. Ah. He would have to introduce his pack summons to the children soon. 

Ahhh…There was just so much to do and plan now that he had a team… In fact, Kakashi was already beginning to regret passing them. 

  
  



	17. Mission Days

Minato stalked his target through the underbrush. He held his breath carefully as he advanced upon his prey. Stalking forwards a few more steps, Minato paused, before pouncing. He grabbed onto the struggling cat and quickly scruffed it, making the cat go limp. 

Kakashi jumped down beside him and inspected the limp cat, “Is that Tora? Does it have the ribbon on the right ear?” He asked. 

Minato held the brown cat out to Kakashi as an answer. Kakashi waved him off. It was Tora indeed, there was the distinctive ribbon on its ear. 

“Good job. Now that all three of you have each individually caught Tora once, we can begin moving up the mission ranks. Oh, and congrats on being the fastest to catch Tora on your team.” Kakashi said patting Naruto on the head. “Now, let's head back.” 

Kakashi had been working on developing his team’s individual skills. He’d discovered that Naruto had enhanced senses similar to Kiba when he tested their sense of smell. Most likely a result of being the host to the Kyuubi. This was a delight to Kakashi as he could train his sensei’s son in his own tracking techniques since as a Hatake he was born with enhanced smelling capabilities like the Inuzuka. Kakashi could already tell that the kid would make a formidable hunter nin in the future. He was exactly like a bloodhound and his chakra sensing abilities only enhanced his capabilities. 

Kiba also wasn't far behind Naruto in terms of tracking prowess. He was a natural at picking up the differences between scents, something that was slightly harder to do for Naruto. Kiba also had different combat tactics forcibly beaten into his skull by Kakashi. He would no longer charge headlong at his opponent, but would take advantage of his speed to quickly strike from unexpected angles. 

Sasuke on the other hand would eventually become a natural ninjutsu using power house. The kid had large chakra reserves and learned extremely fast. Kakashi had apologized for the genjutsu he’d used during the test and offered a lesson on meditation to calm and center himself. The meditation would help improve Sasuke’s chakra control and develop resistances towards mental attacks, like the hell viewing technique. 

Overall the team was developing splendidly. Though there were many bumps along the way. Even though all three boys were skilled at fighting and could hypothetically mesh well. Kiba would often clash with Sasuke just on principal. They also discovered KIba had a very short patience and would often jump the gun and attack before he was supposed to. Sasuke and Naruto both had the problem of believing they could accomplish things on their own without the help of others. Though Naruto was slightly better than Sasuke at accepting scolding for this aspect. Naruto also had a tendency to go off and do things on his own without telling the team. Meanwhile Sasuke had a habit of ignoring the things Kiba said. 

The few team exercises they had done couldn't solve all their problems right away, but it did help smooth things over. Sasuke gained a respect for the enhanced senses of his teammates. Kiba grudgingly admitted that Sasuke would learn jutsu faster than him. Naruto had to admit that he couldn't accomplish everything on his own. Slowly but surely they were coming together. 

Minato had also stepped it up in sparring sessions with Kakashi during their individual sessions. He forced him to work harder without whipping out his Sharingan immediately. For the first time since Shisui died, Minato released his resistance seals to spar. In their first unrestrained private spar Kakashi couldn’t keep up with Naruto’s speed after he had released the first level of his seals. He moved to pull up his hitai-ate. Naruto took full advantage of the lapse in movement to defeat Kakashi. Minato had noticed that Kakashi’s reactions seemed strangely delayed at some points and pointed this out to Kakashi. Kakashi had laughed awkwardly and then found a corner to sulk in. He assigned Naruto a solo D-rank in embarrassment. 

Speaking of D-ranks, the monotonous D-ranks were tiring but paid decently enough, even though Naruto didn’t exactly need the money. Kurama had even spoken up a few times to complain how boring watching Minato complete all the chores was. The great fox had taken to commentating on Minato’s life like it was a bad tv show. Minato didn’t exactly appreciate his life being turned into a source of entertainment. He also didn’t really appreciate having his thoughts constantly interrupted by snide remarks, but he dealt with it all well enough. He’d retaliated by changing his mindscape into random colors and then enjoyed the Kyuubi’s moans while dealing with a neon pink field of wheat. 

“ **Maybe you should stick a tracking seal on it so that you don't have to look for it again. Watching you clumsily track a cat through a forest isn’t fun.”** The Kyuubi said as Naruto and Kakashi began walking back to the missions desk where their team was waiting. 

_ ‘Thanks for the advice, but it's good practice tracking Tora.’  _ Minato thought back still carrying Tora by the nape of its neck. 

When the duo finally arrived at the missions office, Tora was immediately snatched up by an ecstatic Madam Shijimi. 

The wife of the Fire Daimyo smushed the cat into her ample bosom and cuddled it fiercely. “Oh Tora! I was so worried about you! I could have died!!” She cried. 

Kiba grumped up to Naruto and whispered in his ear, “She should hug it a bit harder. That way we won't have to catch that demonic cat ever again.” 

Sasuke sidled up to Naruto’s other side and snorted in agreement. 

Minato scratched his head awkwardly and laughed, he hadn’t had that much trouble with the cat… 

The team walked up to the Sandaime’s desk to receive their next mission, the Sandaime noticed them approaching and looked up from his stack of papers. 

“Ah, Team seven. Let’s see… your next mission is… An errand to the neighboring town to babysit the Chief Councilor’s boy, and then helping to dig potatoes-“

“Hokage-sama, isn’t there a higher ranked mission we can take?” Kiba whined, interrupting the Hokage’s spiel. 

Sasuke nodded his head and Naruto had a wry smile on. 

Iruka stood up from the Hokage’s left side and shouted, “You fool! You're still a genin! Everyone starts with the bottom missions and moves up over time!” 

“B-but it's been nothing but chores so far! Are these really missions?” 

Kakashi put a hand on top of Kiba’s head, silencing him. 

The Sandaime took a puff of his pipe and looked at Kiba, “Evidently you need an explanation of just what these missions are. You see… Every day our village receives requests that we sort into categories based on the degree of skill they require. Shinobi are also divided into skill levels. The missions are distributed to those with the abilities to complete the requests. You are currently at the lowest rank, D-ranks are the best you can get.” 

Kiba crossed his arms and huffed while Akamaru whined besides him. 

Kakashi then stepped up, “Actually, I believe my team is ready for a C-rank today. I've trained their individual skills quite a lot recently.” 

The Sandaime hummed and considered Kakashi’s statement. He looked over the team carefully. He was still unsure of Naruto’s true strength. Kakashi had reported that Naruto was capable of rivaling him in taijutsu without his Sharingan but he had no knowledge of the amount of ninjutsu that Naruto knew just yet. 

“Well since you put it that way I may have a task for you. Your next mission is to bodyguard a certain individual.”

Kiba instantly perked up, “Who is it?!” He asked excitedly. 

Smirking, the Sandaime called out, “Please come in Tazuna-san!” 

The door off to the side of the missions office opened and a man dressed in casual work clothes entered with a bottle of sake in hand. Minato’s first impression was that this man was drunk, his second impression was equally unfavorable as the man proceeded to open his mount and insult the trio. 

“Are these the ones that are going to be protecting me? They look like a bunch of brats. Especially the dumb looking one with the dog.” 

“Huuuh? Who’re you callin dumb you old drunk!?” Kiba roared. Akamaru barked from the top of his head as well. 

Kakashi whapped Kiba on the head, “No insulting the client.” 

The man took a long and messy gulp of his sake, he turned to the Hokage and asked, “This isn’t a joke right? Are they really ninja?” 

“I assure you they are trained Shinobi who will do their best to protect you. Additionally you will have Jounin Hatake Kakashi with you.” The Hokage said. 

“Humph fine then.” Tazuna looked condescendingly at the genin, “I’m Tazuna, super bridge builder. Until I safely back in my own country, where I’ll be completing my next bridge, you’ll be protecting me with your lives.” 

Naruto nodded sharply at Tazuna, Sasuke grunted, and Kiba crossed his arms huffily and turned his head. 

Minato found it slightly strange that the man was so serious about his own safety, if this was really a C-rank there shouldn’t be any need for the paranoia. The man was also rather worried for a simple C-rank client. Perhaps he was just a paranoid old man? 

“Well then, we will meet tomorrow at eight at the gates of Konoha. Make sure to pack for several weeks of travel.” Said Kakashi, putting his hands in his pockets. 

The team nodded at their sensei while Tazuna grunted and left the room. 

  
  


The next day at the great orange gates of Konoha, Naruto was leaning on the gate doors waiting patiently. Soon enough both Sasuke and Kiba showed up. Kiba saw that neither Tazuna nor Kakashi were around so he decided to let Akamaru down from his coat to play. Naruto and Kiba both spent several minutes playing with the small puppy before Tazuna showed up with another bottle of sake. 

The man brought a dark cloud of worry along with his arrival. Minato narrowed his eyes at the man. Seems this wouldn’t be a normal C-rank then… Minato dug into his pack for his sealing supplies and began to draw up a few basic barrier seals while they waited for their sensei. 

After an hour had passed with no sign of Kakashi Minato finally decided to see what was keeping him. He crouched down and put two fingers to the ground to help him concentrate. Minato spread his senses out across Konoha searching for Kakashi. He found Kakashi at the memorial stone in training grounds seven and he frowned softly. Mourning the dead was fine and all but he couldn't let this habit cut into his life too much.

“What’s keeping that Sensei of yours?” Tazuna asked impatiently, tapping his foot. 

Kiba groaned from were he was sprawled out under a tree, “He’s always like this, he’ll probably show up soon with another ridiculous excuse.” 

Sasuke grunted in agreement. 

Sure enough Kakashi soon turned up and said, “Yo! Today I had to help an old lady with her groceries but her house was at the top of a mountain.” 

Tazuna and Kiba sighed simultaneously while Minato studied the man closely. 

Sasuke stood from where he was sitting and said, “Let’s go then.” 

Kiba bounded up to Naruto and said excitedly, “Hey. Hey. Naruto! Isn’t this exciting? This’ll be our second time out of the village! Do you think it will be anything like the first?” 

Sasuke turned his head as he remembered the short lived kidnapping and Minato chuckled awkwardly, “Heh. Kiba if we're lucky nothing like that will ever happen again.” 

Tazuna shifted uncomfortably. “Am I supposed to be reassured with you brats?” He asked bluntly. 

Kakashi eye smiled, “Maa you have nothing to worry about. I’m a Jounin, I’ll be coming along too after all.”

Kiba crossed his arms letting Akamaru jump back into his jacket, “You shouldn’t insult ninja to their faces old man.” 

“Heh. I'll respect you when I want to.” Tazuna said taking a swig of his sake. 

“You watch it! I’ll be Hokage one day!” Kiba shouted. 

“Isn’t the hokage the best your village has to offer? I don't think you have what it takes.”

“Why you!” Kiba made to charge at the man but Kakashi held him back. 

Minato suddenly detected two unknown signatures near the edge of his range, he glanced at Tazuna and frowned. He couldn't ascertain the intentions of the two presences but he didn’t like how they felt. 

“Alright… Let’s go then…” Kakashi drawled, he started walking down the road leading away from Konoha. 

Kiba quickly followed Kakashi eager to get away from Tazuna for a bit. 

Naruto looked at Sasuke who had already stood and was following the duo down the road, he shrugged and waited for Tazuna to start walking before he followed. 

A few hours later as they were still walking Minato signaled to Kakashi using discret hand signals that two prescenes had been tailing them since Konoha. 

Kakashi blinked at Naruto in confirmation and signed to wait and see. 

Kiba walked along not suspecting anything, the two presences were down wind after all. 

Sasuke noticed the hand signals exchanged between Kakashi and Naruto and his right hand drifted over his kunai holster. 

“Hey, Kakashi sensei. Are there ninja in Wave?” Kiba asked out of the blue. 

“Mm… No. Not in the Land of Waves. There’s not much to worry about for this mission, you won’t be facing any Ninja during a mere C-rank.” Kakashi replied. 

“Aww so I won't encounter any enemy nin?” Kiba whined.

“Of course not! Haha!” Kakashi said, patting Kiba on the head. 

Tazuna looked down at the ground with a slightly drawn look that Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi all took note of. 

Minato felt the two unknowns move around the side of the group and stop up ahead around where the road turned slightly. He signed this information to Kakashi who nodded back at him.

Soon enough as the group continued walking they came upon a small puddle by the side of the road. Kiba glanced at it as they walked past but didn’t say anything. 

Just as they had passed it two figures slowly appeared out of the puddle, one riding on the other’s back. The figures were dressed in black and white camouflage, they wore respirator masks and wore the symbol of Kiri shinobi. Each of the nin had a great clawed weapon on their arm that was connected by a long bladed chain. 

The one riding on the other’s back leapt off and aimed straight at Kakashi. They lashed the sharp chain around and captured Kakashi with it. Kakashi froze, caught by the chains.

“What?!” He yelled. 

“One down.” The two enemy nin said pulling sharply on the bladed chains and chopping Kakashi into pieces. 

Kiba froze at the sight of the gore while Naruto and Sasuke took up defensive stances next to Tazuna. 

The two nin dashed towards Tazuna circling around Sasuke and Naruto. 

Sasuke leapt up into the air and pinned their bladed chain to a tree with a well aimed shuriken. He reinforced the pinned shuriken with a second kunai. Sasuke then landed on top of the clawed weapons that the two nin held and kicked them backwards. The two enemies quickly disconnected the chain from their claws and dashed away from Sasuke towards Tazuna. Naruto moved to block the one on the right while Sasuke moved towards the one on the left. 

Naruto threw a punch that was too fast to be blocked at his opponent’s gut; then sharply chopped the back of their neck as they bent over from the impact. 

Sasuke blocked a sharp thrust with a kunai, just as he was about to counter Kiba came flying in from behind him and nailed his opponent with a Gatsuga, sending him flying backwards. 

“Tch. First you freeze up, then you steal my opponent.” Sasuke said, kicking at the now unconscious Kiri nin. 

“Hey shut up! I didn’t freeze! I was just surprised is all!” Kiba yelled point at Sasuke harshly. 

Kakshi appeared behind them, “Good work you three, Kiba don't freeze up like that next time. Naruto, very clean. Sasuke, good aim.” He then turned to Tazuna, “Now I believe you have something you should tell us? Those two have been following us since we left Konoha according to Naruto.” 

Tazuna hesitated as Naruto and Kiba moved to tie up the Kiri nin. Once the enemy nin had been tied up against a tree the group fell into discussion mode.

“These are Chunnin of Kirigakure. Kiri shinobi are often renowned for their willingness to fight until their goals are achieved, even at the cost of their own lives.” Kakashi stated, examining the two Shinobi. 

“Kakashi-sensei, I think they’re the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, from the bingo books.” Naruto said. 

“Hmm… You may be right Naruto. They’re supposed to be subordinates of Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, right?” Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded in response. 

The Kiri nin soon woke up and realized they were captured. They struggled in their bonds a bit before they gave up and settled down. 

“How did you know we were here?” One of them asked.

“We have a very good sensor and it hasn’t rained for days. There shouldn’t be any puddles…” Kakashi said drily. 

“W-well if you knew they were following us then why didn’t you do anything?” Tazuna spluttered. 

“I wanted to know who their target was. I needed to know if they were after you or one of us. There was no report of any Shinobi after your life Tazuna-san. The request you submitted was to have an escort protect you against bandits or thieves. In any case this has clearly become a B-rank or higher mission. Protecting you from ordinary dangers until you finished the bridge is one thing but this is clearly another. As it is, this mission is currently beyond our pay grade.” Kakashi stated. 

“Are we going back to Konoha then?” Sasuke asked. 

“Please no! Please wait and let me explain myself!” Tazuna said hurriedly. 

“Well? We’re waiting.” Kakashi drawled.

Tazuna hung his head, “As you’ve said… This job is more dangerous than I led you to believe. There’s a super scary many that wants me dead.”

Kiba tilted his head, “A super scary man?” 

“You’ve probably heard of him…” 

“Who is it?” Naruto asked. 

“He’s a billionaire in the shipping field. His name is Gato!”

Kakashi’s eyes widened, “You mean Gato. Gato of Gato Shipping and Transport? One of the richest men in the world?” 

Tazuna nodded, “That’s the one. On the surface he seemed like a normal business man. But the truth is that he’s a ruthless criminal who employs gangs of mercenaries and teams of Shinobi. He traffics in drugs and contraband. He lives by every low and vicious trade known to man… In fact it was just one year ago that he set his sights on Wave. He came under the guise of a business venture and then the violence began. He soon took over the entire marine transportation and shipping industry. He has a stranglehold on all forms of transportation, which is the lifeblood of our island nation! The only thing he has to worry about is the bridge that has been under construction for some time already…”

Naruto hummed in thought. “So you, as the architect of the bridge and its head builder, are in the way of Gato’s hold on Wave.” 

Sasuke turned to the bound Kiri nin who bristled at his look, “So that means these guys are working for Gato then?” 

“Huh. Okay so a super rich dude is after you is what I’m getting.” Said Kiba scratching the side of his head. 

“I still don’t understand though. Why didn’t you tell us that you were a target then?” Asked Kakashi. 

“Wave isn’t really rich. Even the local Daimyo is poor. I have no money at all… A B-rank mission is more than I can afford…” Said Tazuna, the man seemed to be shrinking into himself with each word. “If you turn away from me now. I’m as good as dead. But...” He said perking up again. “That's not any of your concern! It won't matter when my daughter and ten year old grandson cry all day! Oh! And you won’t mind if my daughter vows eternal hatred on all Konoha Shinobi for the rest of her life! Don't worry it won't be your fault!” 

Tazuna laughed uproariously as team seven collectively sweat dropped. 

Kakashi sighed and looked at his team for an answer. Naruto once again had a wry smile on his face, Sasuke smirked at Kakashi and Kiba bared his teeth in a ferocious grin. 

Kakashi sighed again, “Well… I suppose it can't be helped. We’ll continue to protect you, at least until you return to your country!”

Tazuna smiled victoriously and set off at his ambling pace down the road once more. Team seven exchanged wary glances behind his back and followed him. 

“Well. For now let's find a place to camp for the night! I’ll send a message to Konoha to pick up the Demon Brothers and inform them of the mission rank increase.” said Kakashi. 

The team nodded at him and continued down the road until they reached a forest and set up camp for the night. 

  
  



	18. Misty Days

The next day the journey to wave remained relatively uneventful until they reached the sea. The sea was covered in mist and Minato could barely make out anything up ahead. 

The group met with one of Tazuna’ s associates at the shore who rowed them across the sea to wave. The boat ride over to Wave was relatively quiet. The rower repeatedly emphasized the importance of being silent due to the danger Gato posed. 

A giant partially constructed bridge loomed out of the mist.

Kiba gasped, “Woah! Its huge!” 

The entire boat shushed him simultaneously and he clapped his hands over his mouth. 

Soon enough the boat came close enough to land so that the passengers could begin to make out the Land of Waves. There were large arches that surrounded the islands and separated them from the sea. 

The boat passed through a long tunnel. The mist cleared on the other side of the tunnel. A bright blue sky was revealed along with a beautiful village amongst mangroves. But taking a closer look at the village revealed that many of the buildings were run down and falling into disrepair. 

“This is as far as I go. Take care of yourself Tazuna.” The rower told Tazuna as he started the boat engine. 

“Thanks. For taking such a risk. I shouldn’t have asked you to do it.” Tazuna replied. 

The man merely nodded and turned his boat away, sailing off towards his own home. 

Tazuna turned back to the Shinobi, “Ok! Now, if I can just make it home in one piece…”

“Hai, hai.” Said Kakashi. Though Kakashi knew that there would most likely be another attack on Tazuna. It would most likely be the Demon of the Mist as well…

He signaled to his team to be on high alert and for Naruto to use his chakra sensing as much as he could. 

Naruto nodded at him, taking up a position at the front of the group to act as an early warning system. 

The group traveled for an hour in silence, the tension slowly growing as they got closer to their destination. It was when they reached an area near the sea that something happened. 

Without a warning Naruto suddenly threw a shuriken into the bushes to his right. The whole group tensed and prepared for combat. 

Kakashi charged into the underbrush and discovered a frozen white rabbit waiting for him. 

‘ _ This rabbit… It's the wrong color for the season. A decoy kept as a pet?’  _ Kakashi thought. 

Kakashi quickly turned, “Get down!” he yelled at the group. 

They all hit the ground, Sasuke tackled Tazuna down along with him.

A huge cleaver spun over their heads and embedded itself into a nearby tree. 

Suddenly a Shinobi appeared standing on the handle of the giant zanbato, back facing Kakashi and the genin. He was shirtless and was wearing pinstripe pants with camouflage arm and leg warmers. His lower face was wrapped in bandages and his hitai-ate was tied on crookedly. 

‘ _ Ah… I guessed correctly’  _ Thought Kakashi with a sweat drop. 

“Well if it isn’t Momochi Zabuza, the Nuke-nin from Kirigakure.” He said, casually sticking his hands in his pockets. 

Minato found it interesting that his hitai-ate wasn't slashed through like that of a typical nuke-nin. 

Kiba bared his teeth and prepared to charge at the man, only to be stopped by Kakashi’s outstretched arm. 

“Don't interfere, he’s on a different level from our previous opponents.” Kakashi said, not taking his eyes off Zabuza for a moment. “This may be a little rough…” Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate, revealing a red eye surrounded by three tomoe and a long vertical scar over his eye. “Use the Manji battle formation you guys. Protect Tazuna-san. Stay out of this fight.” 

The genin were unsurprised by the reveal. Pressured by Kiba’s unrelenting curiosity and Naruto’s gentle nudging, Kakashi had already revealed the eye to them during training. Kakashi had awkwardly explained to Sasuke that he’d received it as a sort of last will from a teammate and that he wasn’t part Uchiha. He’d equally as awkwardly explained that he hadn't fully mastered it. 

Zabuza smirked under his face wrappings. “Heh. The Sharingan already? One of the greatest doujutsu, capable of seeing through an opponent’s ninjutsu. I’m honored, Kakashi. When I was in Kiri’s ANBU our bingo book possessed quite the entry on you. ” Zabuza turned to fully face Kakashi. “There was an impressive record of yours as well… The man who has copied over a thousand different ninjutsu… Copy nin Kakashi.” 

Kakashi lowered his head in acknowledgement, attention fully on Zabuza. 

“Well as pleasant this conversation has been. The time for talk is over. I’m on a tight schedule to kill the old man over there.” Zabuza drawled. 

Tazuna gulped nervously while Kiba, Sasuke, and Naruto surrounded him quickly. 

Kakashi took his hands out of his pockets, readying himself. 

“Well Kakashi. Looks like I’ll have to kill you first.” Zabuza said. He then leapt off his zanbato and dislodged it from the tree, landing on the water. He took up a pose with his left arm outstretched above his head in a half ram seal. Zabuza then quickly vanished into the mist. 

“He’s gone!” Kiba shouted. 

The mist dramatically thickened around the group. Minato discovered that his sensing abilities became extremely limited within the mist. He could only sense a small radius around himself. The air was so saturated with chakra Minato couldn’t accurately sense where Zabuza was. 

“He will come after me first. Zabuza is a master of the art of silent killing. Don't let your guard down!” Kakashi said sternly as the mist hid him from sight.

Zabuza’ s voice drifted out of the mist from all directions, “There are eight targets.”

“W-what?” Asked Kiba, Akamaru whined from within his coat. 

“Throat, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidney, heart. So many choices. What vital place shall I choose?” Zabuza laughed, exerting his killing intent upon the group. 

Sasuke shook in place, reminded of a terrible night long ago. Kakashi subtly ran through a series of hand signs. He expelled a blast of calming chakra, revealing himself to the group again. 

“Sasuke. Kiba. Calm down. Even if he gets me, I’ll still protect you.” Kakashi turned to direct a reassuring smile at them. “I will never let my comrades die!” Minato smiled, his old student had really come a long way. 

“I wouldn’t bet on that.”

Minato turned inwards to the group just as Zabuza appeared in the middle of the Manji formation. 

“Game over.” Zabuza said. 

But before he could react he was stabbed in the chest by Naruto. 

Minato watched as Zabuza bled water instead of blood and leapt away from the water clone. A second Zabuza appeared behind him. Naruto ducked as Zabuza slashed at him with his cleaver. Kakashi instantly charged at Zabuza and stabbed at him with a kunai. Zabuza blocked with his sword and jumped backwards. Into a second Kakashi. Who held a kunai to his neck. 

“Game over.” Said Kakashi. 

Zabuza laughed mockingly, “It will take more than mimicking me like an ape to defeat me. A lot more.” 

The Zabuza that Kakashi held a kunai to dissolved into water and another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. He swung at Kakashi with a large horizontal sweep. Kakashi ducked low underneath the swing like Naruto, but Zabuza embedded his sword into the ground and used it as a pivot point to deliver a devastating kick to Kakashi. Sending Kakashi flying into the sea. Just as Zabuza was about to chase after Kakashi he was stopped in his tracks by what he saw on the ground. 

“Heh. Caltrops? What foolishness!” Zabuza vanished in a shunshin and reappeared on the water's surface behind Kakashi. 

“Hah! Gullible fool!” He weaved several hand signs and the water around Kakashi rose up and trapped him in a large water bubble. “Heh. His jutsu is inescapable once you're trapped.” Zabuza gloated. “You running around makes it too hard for me to do my job. I'll finish you once I've dealt with all the others.” With those words Zabuza formed another water clone that charged at the genin the instant it appeared. 

“You brats don’t deserve to be called Shinobi!” The clone roared as it ran towards the genin. 

It elbowed Kiba out of the way roughly and lashed out in a spinning kick at Sasuke, leaving Naruto as the only barrier between him and Tazuna. 

Naruto swiftly pulled out a paper tag, flashed through hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground. A bright blue barrier sprung up, surrounding him and Tazuna and blocking the swing of Zabuza’s cleaver. The Zabuza clone pulled back as his sword bounced off the barrier, he reassessed the situation. He was surrounded on both sides by genin with a seemingly impenetrable wall in front of him. 

The Zabuza clone paused and broke out into laughter. “Hahaha! Quite the genin you have here, Kakashi!”

“Run away! Don’t stay and fight! This was over the moment I got captured! Zabuza can’t move from here and he’ll lose control of the clone if it gets far enough! Save Tazuna-san!”Kakashi yelled at the genin. 

The genin traded looks with each other. They shot a glance at Tazuna who was safe behind the barrier. The man smiled. 

“I got us into this mess by lying… It would be a shame if you kids died to save me. You go ahead and fight with everything you got!” He said. 

They grinned wildly and faced the clone again. Sasuke and Kiba took up fighting stances while Naruto drew symbols and reinforced the barrier surrounding himself and Tazuna. 

“What are you doing!? Run!” Kakashi shouted desperately. 

Kiba smirked back at Kakashi, “Just who was it that told us abandoning your friends made you worse than trash?” 

“Heh. Apparently you kids don't care if you live any longer. Playing at ninja like its a game!” Zabuza brandished his sword wildly “By the time I was your age. I had already dyed these hands in blood!”

“So? what does that matter?” Kiba brashly yelled out. 

“Heh. Do you know how I got the name Demon of the mist?” 

“The Kiri graduation test…” Kakashi’s quiet murmur was caught by Zabuza. 

“So you’ve heard. Of the killing spree between classmates. Such good times… ” Zabuza smiled, his eyes upturned in delight. 

He then leveled the full force of his killing intent back upon the young genin. Imposing visions of death upon them. 

The water clone ran forwards and assaulted the barrier with all its might. Bringing the great sword down in a vertical slash that crashed against the barrier with a clang. 

Kiba darted forwards as Sasuke covered him with a barrage of shuriken. Kiba skidded under Zabuza clone’s legs and quickly pivoted. He spun into a Gatsuga and aimed straight for its back. Kiba collided with the clone as a storm of claws and sent the clone barreling straight into Sasuke’s shuriken. The clone scattered into water droplets slapping the barrier. 

“Hmph not bad.” Zabuza grunted, “But how's this?” Two more water clones formed at the edge of the water and dashed at a recovering Kiba. Naruto quickly stepped out of his barrier and charged forwards to tackle Kiba out of the way of two crushing vertical swings. He quickly formed a shadow clone that raced off to confront the left water clone and shouted at Kiba and Sasuke,

“You two! Save Kakashi! I'll take handle the clones!” 

The other two nodded sharply and dashed around Zabuza’s clones to confront the real Zabuza. 

Sasuke pulled out a large fuma shuriken from his pack as he ran and unfolded it. He leapt high into the air and threw it, flashing through a few hand signs as he went. 

“Aiming for my real body huh? Naive!” Zabuza caught the large shuriken but was surprised by a second shuriken hiding in the shadow of the first one. “Not enough!” Zabuza crowed, leaping over it. 

He was blindsided when Kiba crashed into him from the left in another Gatsuga. Knocking him away from the water prison that held Kakashi.

Minato and his clone dispatched the water clones with swifts stabs to the abdomen. 

Kiba skidded on the water as Zabuza growled and made to throw the fuma shuriken in his hand at him. 

Instead his arm was grabbed by a crushingly tight grip from a now freed Kakashi.

“You boys have grown well” Kakashi said glaring at Zabuza with his Sharingan eye. “The same jutsu wont work on me twice!”

The two Jounin jumped away from each other simultaneously. Zabuza began a long string of hand seals that Kakashi mirrored instantly. Both men flipped through signs until they ended on a ‘Tori’ sign. The sea churned as two gigantic dragons formed out of water rose up and crashed against each other. Water overflowed the banks. Flooding the area as Sasuke, Kiba, and Naruto channeled chakra into their feet to remain where they were. Tazuna remained perfectly dry in his little barrier. 

The waves subsided, revealing Kakashi clashing with Zabuza’s large zanbato with a tiny kunai knife. Zabuza was pressing down on his sword with both hands but was still held off by Kakashi’s chakra reinforced kunai. 

The men dashed around in a circle and took up mirroring poses with left arm outstretched to the sky. 

Zabuza’s brows furrowed, he lowered his arm which was copied by Kakashi. 

Kakashi then spoke, making no sense to Kiba and Sauske, “...Through them all!” 

Zabuza’s eyes widened as he put his hands together in a sign. 

“...Got that sickeningly evil look in his eye… Right?” Kakshi continued. 

“You're a pale imitation.” Zabuza said, shaken. 

“I’m the genuine article. No mere copycat stands a chance against me!” Both men said at the same time. 

Suddenly Zabuza paused in his hand signs, there was a faint figure forming behind Kakashi. It was? Himself? 

‘ _ Impossible! Is this one of his genjutsu?’  _ Zabuza thought. 

But by the time he had come back to himself, it was too late. 

Kakashi had completed the set of hand seals that Zabuza hesitated on. 

A huge burst of water crashed into Zabuza sending him flying. The large tsunami like wave carried Zabuza away and sent him crashing into a thick tree. Kakashi threw a set of kunai that thudded into Zabuza’s arms and legs, pinning him to the tree. 

Kakashi landed on the branches above Zabuza and said, “That’s that.”

Zabuza glared at him from the corner of his eye, “What… Can you see the future?” 

Kakashi raised a kunai menacingly, “I foresee… Your death…” 

But before Kakashi could act two senbon thudded into Zabuza’s neck. Sending him crashing to the forest floor. 

“What!?” Kiba yelled in shock. Minato remained silent as he studied the newcomer who had just thrown the senbon. So this was the presence that he had sensed observing the fight. Minato hadn’t bothered with them because he could feel no hostile intent from them until Zabuza crashed into the tree. 

The newcomer was standing on a tree opposite to Kakashi. They wore a Kiri hunter nin mask and long pinstriped hakama pants with a black Haori tied with a white obi. 

Kakashi shunshined next to Zabuza and inspected his body. He put two fingers to Zabuza’s neck, feeling for his pulse. 

“Hmm… he’s dead…” 

Kakashi looked at the hunter nin thoughtfully as he pulled away from Zabuza’s body. 

The hunter nin bowed, “Thank you for your help. I hope you don't mind my interfering. But I wanted the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out of his misery.” 

Kakashi tilted his head at the hunter nin, “The mask is familiar… Correct me if I’m wrong. But are you a hunter nin from Kirigakure?” 

“Well aren’t you a smart one!” The hunter nin said. “I am indeed from Kiri.” 

Kiba ran up to the base of the tree and yelled angrily , “Who do you think you are taking our prey like that? You may be a hunter nin but he was our opponent!” 

“As I said before, I apologize, I wanted the satisfaction of the kill. I have been chasing this man for a very long time.” 

Minato closed his eyes and reached his senses out to Zabuza. He could still feel a very faint chakra impression from the body. 

“Damn you!” Kiba yelled, he turned to Kakashi, “Are we really that weak? That guy just got taken down by a guy our age! What’s with that?” 

Kakashi walked up to Kiba and patted him on the head, “You have my sympathy. I can see how that would be hard to accept. This probably won't be the last time we run into someone who is younger than you and stronger than me though.” 

Kiba tched and looked to the side angrily as the hunter nin shunshined to Zabuza’s side. 

Minato waited calmly for the hunter nin to cut off the head and destroy the body. 

“Your battle is over for now… The remains must be disposed of. Lest they give up secrets to our foes. I must be off.” The hunter nin said, hefting the body over his shoulder. 

“Wait!” Minato shouted. 

“Hm?” 

“I want to see you destroy the body right here.” 

“Aw, Naruto that's gross!” Said Kiba. 

“I’m afraid that the disposal technique is a secret.” The hunter nin said with a hint of worry. 

Minato narrowed his eyes at the hunter nin. “Isn’t it hunter nin protocol to destroy the body where it falls?” 

The hunter nin said nothing. They simply vanished in a quick shunshin. 

“Sensei.”

“Aah. I know.” 

“What? Wait what just happened?” Asked Kiba. 

“Zabuza is still alive.” Naruto replied returning to Tazuna’s side to release the barrier seal. 

“What!?” Kiba shouted, Akamaru barked in confusion as well. “But Kakashi-sensei said he was dead!”

“Think about it, what weapons did that hunter nin use?” Kakashi asked. 

Kiba and Akamaru both tilted their heads, “Senbon, why?”

“Dobe. It’s hard to actually kill with senbon.” Said Sasuke, crossing his arms. 

“Indeed. Hunter nin are required to have an intimate knowledge of the human physiology. It would have been simple for one to place a person in a near death state.” Kakashi said. 

Kiba smiled wickedly at the thought of Zabuza being alive. That meant there was a chance for a rematch! 

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate back down, “Well, for now we still have to escort Tazuna-san back home. Let’s get going!” 

Kakshi took a step and then promptly collapsed face forward on the ground. 

“Ah! Kakashi-sensei!” Kiba yelled. 

Minato face palmed. This was exactly like Kakashi from long ago when he’d just received the eye. Kakashi would always finish missions by over exerting himself and then pass out right afterwards. Minato thought it had gotten better but evidently not. 

“He’s chakra exhausted, Kiba.” Naruto said as he formed two shadow clones and made them carry Kakashi. “Lead on Tazuna-san, lets go to your house and we can camp nearby.” 

Tazuna laughed, “Ahh no need you can stay in my house, come on boys!”

“ **That was fun to watch, can you fight someone again in a few minutes?”**

_ ‘Kurama. No.’ _

The fox grinned widely,  **“Aw, why not?”**


	19. Preparation Days

“Are you alright Sensei?” Asked Tsunami, Tazuna's twenty eight year old daughter. Tsunami was a beautiful woman with long straight black hair and fine features. She was quite tall and wore a simple black dress and pink shirt. 

The group had arrived at Tazuna’s house and set Kakashi up in an extra futon in the entryway to the house. 

“No, but I will be in about a week…” Kakashi sighed. 

“Sensei, you depend too much on the Sharingan, you need to train more without it. Something else is affecting your chakra as well… Perhaps some mental block?” Said Minato while busily drawing more seals.

“What do you mean Naruto?”

“I mean that, with my sensing skills I can tell that you have some depressive thoughts holding you back from achieving your true potential.” Minato scratched his head awkwardly, he knew Kakashi wouldn’t take what he had to say too well… “Perhaps a traumatic incident that you keep revisiting… And since chakra is half spiritual energy and your mental state is rather unhealthy… Your chakra production isn’t where it should be to properly support your Sharingan eye. Additionally, the Sharingan is heavily affected by negative emotions so it may be drawing more chakra in response to your feelings.” 

Kakashi looked down and refused to say anything. His hand clenched on the futon covers. 

Minato’s heart clenched, he knew exactly what Kakashi was thinking. He also mourned Rin and Obito. Except Kakashi constantly dwelled on the issue and it negatively impacted his health. Minato blamed himself for not being a better teacher. He wished he could have done more for Kakashi and taught him how to properly deal with loss. 

But he could be here for Kakashi now. He would be here as Naruto when Kakashi was ready to talk about it. 

Minato pretended not to notice Kakashi’s reaction and barreled on. “We have about a week before Zabuza recovers from being put in a near death state as, we need to use our time well. Perhaps train a special technique or something. Gato might even send Zabuza with backup as well…” 

Kakashi released his hand and sighed, “Yes, you are absolutely correct Naruto… Except I can't even move right now so you will have to oversee your training on your own.”

Sasuke and Kiba who had been sitting in the corner quietly both nodded their heads. 

“Sensei… I've been thinking. When you mentioned Kiri’s graduation exams in the fight with Zabuza… What did you mean?” Sasuke asked. 

“Ah. Kiri’s graduation exams were very different from ours…” 

“Different? How?” 

“It’s the most inhumanly difficult test imaginable. It is a killing spree between classmates… Students who had been best friends as undergraduates were forced to fight each other to the death.”

“Woah. That’s sick” Kiba said grimacing. 

“Indeed. Ten years ago, the elders of Kirigakure were eventually forced to enact a sweeping reform of their barbaric graduation ritual after a certain incident.” 

“What incident was that sensei?” Asked Sasuke. 

“During the previous year… Without any hesitation, a boy who had not qualified yet as a ninja… Butchered over a hundred members of that year’s graduating class.” 

Kiba and Sasuke gaped.

“Sensei, how did a boy who didn’t even qualify as a ninja kill over a hundred graduating ninja?” Naruto asked. 

“Well that is why they called Zabuza the Demon of the Mist…” Kakashi replied coolly. 

Naruto nodded, “That’s fair.” 

Kakashi then leveled a stern gaze at the three genin. The genin froze in place at the serious look. 

“Next time when I give an order, I expect it to be followed. Am I clear? I’ll let it go this time since things went well.” 

The genin frantically nodded their heads, eager to have their lazy easy-going sensei back. 

“Well anyways. You will all have to increase your training. All are all capable of tree walking and water walking, correct?” 

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Hn.”

“Good. Then the next step will be learning your elemental affinities.” Kakashi then dug around in his pack for a bit. He eventually pulled out three slips of paper and handed them to the genin. 

“These are chakra sheets, do you all know how they work?” 

“Uhh… what do they do sensei?” Asked Kiba. 

“These sheets will reveal your elemental affinities when you push your chakra into them. It will be cut if you are wind natured, burn if you are fire, crumble if you are earth, crumple if you are lighting, and become wet if you are water.” 

“Cool!” Kiba shouted. “Ah do you have an extra sheet for Akamaru?” 

“Mm? Oh I should have an extra around here somewhere…” Kakashi replied absently, rummaging through his pack again. He handed a sheet to Akamaru who took it into his mouth and channeled chakra. The tiny sheet crumbled into dirt revealing that Akamaru was earth natured. 

“Sweet! Akamaru! Now me!” Kiba focused on his sheet. His sheet crumbled into dirt as well. 

Sasuke huffed at seeing Kiba and Akamaru’s results. He channeled chakra into his paper was well. His paper crumpled and the top left corner began to burn slightly. 

“Hoh. A lighting and fire nature huh? Lightning is rare from the Uchiha clan you know?” Kakashi said. 

Sasuke’s face took on a pensive expression. 

Minato examined his paper, he already had a few ideas on what kind of results he would get. He channeled chakra into the paper. The paper split in half, one half crumpled and the other half burned. 

_ ‘Huh. Just like my old body.’ _ Thought Minato

‘ _ Just like Sensei…’  _ Thought Kakashi. 

“Huh, you got all three offensively oriented natures and it seems wind is your main nature…” Kakashi said scratching the side of his chin. “We seem to have quite the spread in this team, no water nature though... But that's fine. Remember that you can still learn jutsu that are not of your nature transformation. They will just be much harder to learn and master. I’ll be teaching you each individually just give me a day to rest.” 

“Sounds fun!” Kiba crowed excitedly with a barking Akamaru. 

“It won’t be fun for you.” A voice suddenly said.

The team turned to the entrance of the room to see a small child dressed in a yellow shirt, black overalls, and a striped hat enter the room. Minato felt bitterness and sorrow as well as a hint of anger pouring off the boy. 

“Inari! Where have you been?!” Tazuna asked happily, spreading his arms out for a hug.

“Welcome home, grandpa.” The child said, walking over to Tazuna and giving him a hug. 

“Inari greet our guests properly! They’re esteemed Shinobi who brought your grandfather safely home!” Tsunami scolded while Tazuna patted his head. 

Inari looked at the genin critically. He turned to his mother and pointed at them condemningly, “But Mama, they’re all gonna die.”

“What’d you say you little twerp?!” Kiba yelled. 

Inari lowered his head, “No one can beat Gato and his men.”

“Why you little brat!” Kiba roared, about to throw down with a child. Naruto held him back,

“Calm down Kiba! He’s just a child!”

Kiba pointed at Inari and declared, “Listen here brat! We’re heroes who’re here to help your grandpa! Gato? You can't expect us to be afraid of an old rich guy! We’re ninja!”

Inari scoffed, “Heroes? You’re dumb! There’s no such thing!” 

“What!?” Kiba roared. 

“Calm down! Kiba!” Naruto said again, tugging on Kiba’s sleeve. 

“If you dont wanna die, go home now.” Inari turned away from them and walked to the door at the end of the room. 

“Where you off to Inari?” Tazuna asked. 

“I’m going to watch the ocean from my room…” he replied before slamming the door behind him. 

Tazuna lowered his head to the genin, “Please forgive him…” 

Kiba stalked out of the room intent on giving Inari a good talking to. 

Naruto and Sasuke shared glances as Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. 

Kiba came back a few minutes later looking incredibly disheartened. He didn’t say anything much else for the rest of the night either. In fact Kiba had an uncharacteristically thoughtful look on his face as they turned in for the night. 

The next day breakfast was provided by a generous Tsunami. The team ate heartily and then left the house to train. They followed Kakashi, who was on crutches, out into the woods behind Tazuna’s house and began their lessons. 

“Okay everyone.” Kakashi began. “First I will be teaching you a technique to master your nature transformations and then I will teach each of you a jutsu. Once you’ve mastered the technique, performing the jutsu will become much easier. It can take months to master a single nature transformation. But for now we only need you guys to learn a single jutsu.” Kakashi turned to Kiba first and bent down to pick up a lump of mud from the ground. “Kiba, your first exercise is to harden this mud using your chakra until you can’t cut scratch it with a kunai. Then I will teach you the rock clone technique. Have Akamaru practice this as well.” 

“Huh. That’s it? Sounds simple!” Kiba said brightly. 

“Don’t underestimate this exercise Kiba. You may be able to cast the Iwa Bunshin without mastering this exercise but your clones will be brittle and weak. You will also expend more chakra to get the same effects. Take this seriously.” 

“H-hai Sensei…” Kiba said as he scurried off to practice. 

“Now Sasuke, you know the great fireball jutsu so I will begin you on lightning techniques. The exercise for lighting is to create a constant electric current between your fingers like this.” Kakashi briefly demonstrated a small spark bouncing between both of his hands. “This exercise is harder the further your hands are apart. I’ll be teaching you the electromagnetic murder jutsu later. And just so you know, the exercise for fire is to take a leaf and burn it using chakra only.” 

Sasuke nodded and grunted, he walked off to experiment on his own. 

“And finally Naruto.” Kakashi said turning to the boy. He handed him a leaf. “Wind is the leaf cutting exercise, you mold your chakra so that you can split a leaf with it. I'll introduce you to Asuma when we get back, Konoha has very few wind users after all and I don't know many wind jutsu. Truthfully, I’m a bit lost on what I can teach you regarding wind… Unfortunately it’s also a good idea to develop your main affinity first before moving onto secondaries.” 

Naruto looked at the leaf and considered for a bit. He had already completed his wind elemental training when practicing with Shisui. There wasn't much that Kakashi or Asuma could teach him that he didn’t know already. Fire and lightning could be mastered easily since he already knew the correct visualization for the natures from his past life. 

Truthfully now that they were in Wave, Minato had wanted to visit Uzushio since they were close enough. He could leave a shadow clone with Kakashi and pretend to learn the Rasengan while he visited the ruins of Uzushiogakure. 

Mind made up, Naruto looked Kakashi straight in the eye and said, “I want to learn the Rasengan.” 

Kakashi blinked at him. Once. Then twice. “Excuse me?”

“I want to learn the Rasengan, there were notes on the jutsu in my father's journal but no learning method. You should know it, right?” 

Kakshi stared at Naruto and then slowly nodded his head, “I can teach you the Rasengan if you promise to practice leaf cutting in your own time. I wasn't going to teach it to you until much later though…”

Secretly Kakashi was extremely pleased at being asked to teach his Sensei’s son one of his Sensei’s signature techniques. He coughed awkwardly to hide his giddiness. 

Kakashi pulled out a balloon and filled it with water using a tap on the side of Tazuna’s house. He held the balloon up and said, “The first step to the Rasengan is rotation, it helps to use water to visualize. You must learn to spin your chakra in multiple directions at once and pop this water balloon.” 

Minato smiled at the familiar explanation, it was the same explanation he used to teach Jiraiya and Kakashi the Rasengan. 

Kakashi then demonstrated the technique briefly, distorting the balloon wildly and popping it, drenching Naruto. 

Naruto stared at Kakashi with such a familiar deadpan look, Kakashi felt like his Sensei was about to start scolding him at any second. 

Kakashi eye smiled and pulled out a second balloon and filled it, handing over to Naruto. 

Naruto nodded at Kakashi and took the balloon and wandered off into the forest to train. Truthfully, he just wanted to get out of Kakashi’s line of sight so he could swap with a shadow clone. He wanted to visit Uzushio and it would take a while to travel there. 

Minato quickly formed a single shadow clone and slapped a sealing tag on the back of its neck. It was a chakra storage seal that would hold enough chakra in it to maintain the clone for several weeks. Enough to last the clone for quite a while since he could only be gone for a week. Additionally, Minato carried most of his supplies on him at all times in sealing scrolls. He was ready to depart at anytime. But first… 

“Inari, was it? What are you doing out here?” Minato asked the empty clearing he was standing in. 

Inari stepped out from behind a tree mulishly and kicked the ground at having been found out. 

“What are you guys doing training? There’s no use. Gato will kill you all.” He said. 

Minato smiled sadly, he had encountered children like this during the Third Shinobi war. Children who had lost all hope and had given up. 

“Well you never know Inari… This training just might be what we need to beat Gato.” 

“Feh. No one can beat Gato. He’s too strong.” Inari spat as he turned his back on Naruto and walked away. 

Naruto sadly watched him go. Perhaps he could ask Kakashi about a preemptive assasination of Gato and have him send a message with a mission request back to Konoha? He could always visit Uzushio some other time after all… It's not like the ruins would be moving… 

Naruto sighed, he took the seal off the clone’s neck and dispelled it. He had to think about this more before he made any hasty decisions. 

The next day Minato accompanied Tazuna to the bridge. The bridge was nearly complete. Workers swarmed over it busily and the sounds of machinery echoed into the distance. 

Minato sat near the railings out of the way of the bridge workers. He had pulled out several seals to study and improve. 

Tazuna noticed Naruto was by himself and walked over to him, “All alone today? Where’s dog boy and pretty boy?”

“Oh they’re training, Tazuna-san.”

“Oh, then why aren’t you with them?”

“Kakashi-sensei decided we should take shifts protecting you since we all need to train.”

“I see.” 

Tazuna set down the plank he was carrying with a grunt as another worker approached him. 

“Tazuna… Can I talk to you?” The man asked. 

Tazuna turned and wiped some sweat from his forehead with a towel, “Huh? What’s wrong Giichi?” 

The other man took off his hard hat and placed it on his hip, “I've been thinking it over… this bridge we’re working on… I want off the job…” 

“W-wha. Why?! Out of nowhere like this! You of all people!” Tazuna asked gesturing dramatically. 

“Tazuna. We go back a long way. I want to help but the risk is too great! Gato might just take out a contract on us if we don't stop! And if you die it won't be this one project! We could lose everything! Please just give it up… This bridge isn’t worth it.”

Minato could only watch in silence. He could see where this Giichi guy was coming from. 

“I can't do that.” Tazuna said lowering his head, “This bridge belongs to us all. It's everything we’ve been working towards for our city. When its finished it will bring trade, commerce, and affluence to us. It will put our poor Land of Waves on the map!”

“But we’re talking about  _ lives  _ here! _ Your  _ life” Giichi shouted, trying to make Tazuna see sense. 

Tazuna turned and walked away from him, “It’s afternoon now already, isn’t it? Let’s call it a day. And Giichi… you don't have to come back tomorrow.” 

Walking through the town of Wave was an experience that reminded Minato of towns he had seen during the war. The town was filled with impoverished looking men with signs that said ‘Will do any job’ and there were thieves running rampant. There were homeless children sitting by the side of the road and the shops barely had anything to sell. The people had the same hopeless expressions in Wave as with the twins affected by war. 

Tazuna entered a small shop to pick up a few things for Tsunami. Minato entered after him and inspected the shelves. There were only one or two limp vegetables for sale. Tazuna seemed used to the disparity though. 

Minato felt a man reaching for his pouch. He frowned. Someone that tried to pickpocket a Shinobi wasn't very smart. He turned and pointed at his very obvious headband before the hand got much further. The man gasped and quickly ran off. 

Minato turned to Tazuna and asked, “How long has the town been this way?” 

Tazuna sighed, “It's been this way since Gato moved in… We’ve become a city of slackers, cowards, and fools!” Tazuna began leading the way out of the city, “That's why the bridge is so important! It will be an emblem of courage. Maybe the people who’ve taken the path of least resistance will be willing to walk the road of courage and dignity again. If we could only complete it… I believe that our city and our people can be what they once were again!” 

Minato smiled at Tazuna and nodded, “I believe so as well, there’s a lot of hope riding on that bridge!”

That night at dinner, Naruto watched in fascination as Kiba and Sasuke hurriedly devoured their food. They ate quickly with barely any regard for manners. Akamaru ate equally as messily, but that was okay since he was a dog. Both boys held up their empty bowls at the same time and said, “More, please!”. They glared at each other, sparks flew between their eyes. Suddenly both boys bent over and vomited at the same time.

Minato covered his face with his hand. These kids… 

“Don't eat so much if you're going to waste it like that… The food is delicious by the way Tsunami-san.”

“Aw, thank you dear.” Tsunami said. 

Sasuke wiped his mouth, “I wanna eat…” 

Kiba looked up with tears in his eyes, “I have to eat if I want to get strong!” 

Minato sighed, “You can’t just waste food though, the town is strapped as it is…” 

Both boys looked down in guilt at their vomit. 

After everything had been cleaned up and Tsunami was serving tea, Kiba decided to open his big mouth and ask about the torn picture on the wall. 

“Hey, why is this picture torn? It looks like someone was removed on purpose. The brat was staring at it the whole time too.” 

Tsunami paused from where she was washing the dishes and Tazuna looked down. 

“It was a picture of Inari's father.” Tsunami said scrubbing away again. 

Tazuna leaned forwards, “Once upon a time if you will… Our entire city called him a hero.” 

Inari stood quietly from the table and walked towards the door at the kitchen entrance.

Tsunami turned and asked, “Inari, where are you going?” 

Inari slammed the door behind him harshly. 

Tsunami whipped around and yelled at Tazuna, “Father! I've told you time and time again not to mention that in front of my son!”

She quickly left the room and chased after Inari. 

Kiba looked rather chastised, he looked down and asked, “Is this what makes Inari act so weird?” 

“Sounds like there’s a story there…” Kakashi said taking a sip of his tea. 

Tazuna sighed, “The man in the picture was not Inari’s birth father. But they were as close as any biological father and son could be. Inari used to be such a happy child back then…” 

Tazuna started sobbing. Minato and Kakshi made questioning sounds. 

“But Inari changed after what happened to his father.” Tazuna said. “Our people - especially Inari - were robbed of the very meaning of courage because of Gato.” 

“What happened? What could he have done to change Inari so much?” Kakashi asked. 

Tazuna removed his glasses and wiped his eyes, “Let me start at the beginning and tell you about the man who our entire land called a champion and a hero.” He put his glasses back on.

The team listened quietly to his tale. Kiba gasped when he heard about poor Poochie but cheered when he learned the dog was alright. They all applauded Kaiza when they learned how he had saved the city with his brave actions. 

“He was just the kind of man this town needs more of!” Tazuna continued. “Kaiza taught Inari ‘If something is precious to you, then no matter how hard or painful it gets. You have to protect it with all your strength, even if it costs your life.’ After he had saved the city, people started calling Kaiza a champion and a hero. With a father like that Inari could hold his head up high. Until Gato came to town.” Tazuna paused for a bit. 

“Then something happened… So what exactly happened?” Kakashi asked. 

Tazuna shuddered a bit, “In front of the entire city… Gato had Kaiza put to death! Kaiza had his arms cut off and he was beheaded in the city square. Ever since then Inari has changed. And Tsunami and everyone in the city has changed as well.”

Sasuke stood abruptly along with Kiba. Both boys looked at each other and nodded. 

“What are you two up to now?” Kakashi asked exasperatedly. 

“We’re going to go train.” Said Sasuke. 

Kiba fist pumped, “Yeah. Can’t let that squirt think he’s right. We’re gonna prove him wrong!” Akamaru barked excitedly. 

Both boys left and then turned in opposite directions in the forest to continue their training. 

Minato turned to Kakashi with a grave expression. He crossed his arms and addressed Kakashi seriously, “Kakashi-sensei. I would like to suggest a preemptive assasination of Gato.”

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, “On what grounds Naruto?”

“It's clear that Gato won’t stop sending men after Tazuna anytime soon. He could also destroy the bridge once it has been finished in order to maintain his stranglehold on wave. If we assassinate him we can transfer the company into the jurisdiction of Konoha and have the Land of Waves in Konoha’s debt for removing such a stain.” 

“Hmm… you bring up good points. I will have to send another messenger to Konoha to request an ANBU mission though.”

“No, Kakashi-sensei I believe we are capable of the Assassination ourselves.” 

“Why do you say that Naruto? You three aren’t ready for this kind of mission yet.”

“Kakashi-sensei, I can use a shadow clone to sneak in and out of Gato’s base if you think it's not safe. I’ve also been pranking the ANBU for years, I believe I can do this.” 

Kakashi leapt to his feet and pointed at Naruto accusingly, “YOU! THAT WAS YOU?!?!”

Naruto tilted his head and smirked. 

Kakashi had a brief conniption before he calmed down enough to look at Naruto again. 

“I acknowledge your stealth skills but are you sure your ready for your first kill?” 

“I wouldn’t have suggested this if I wasn’t. Besides, I want to become a hunter nin, remember?” 

“Fine. But I’ll be coming with you just in case you need help. When do you want to do this?”

“Sensei I don't think I’ll need your help. Tazuna needs you more in case Zabuza attacks again. And if it helps ease your mind… Here…” Naruto tossed a kunai at Kakashi.

Kakashi deftly caught the kunai and examined it. His eyes widened the instant he looked at it. 

“T-this is!!”

“Yeah. I've learned it…” 

“Very well… When do you think you will act?”

“I’ll scout out Gato’s base with shadow clones before I move. I think I’ll wait until Zabuza decides to attack Tazuna to kill Gato. You, Sasuke, and Kiba will need to hold him off until I can get back. He should leave once he learns Gato is dead.”

“Why not attack before Zabuza has recovered enough then?”

“Haven’t you heard of the saying a ‘cornered rat bites back’?”

“Fair enough.” 

“I'll need you to delay Zabuza at the bridge until I get back. He should give up once he learns Gato is dead.” 

“Mm… Sasuke and Kiba can take on his masked follower… but what about Tazuna?”

“Sensei, here. I’ll give you another one of my barrier seals so you can fight without worry.”

“Maa… I guess that works. Since when were you so good at fuinjutsu?”

“Ah. Since I moved into my parents' house.” 

“Ahh. Makes sense.” 

“W-wait, wait. Are you two serious?” Tazuna spluttered, “You can kill Gato just like that?”

The two ninja turned to the man and just smiled. “We’re ninja” they said. 


	20. Hazy Days

The next day the team woke up bright and early once more. They gathered in the forest behind Tazuna’s house after breakfast to continue training. Kakashi and Naruto had an unspoken agreement that they would not tell Kiba or Sasuke about the assassination. 

“Yo everyone, are you ready to learn a new jutsu today?” Kakashi asked lazily. 

“Hn.”

“Yeah!” 

“Arf!”

“...”

“What’s wrong Naruto? That wasn't a very energetic response.” Kakashi asked. 

“Hmm? Oh sorry Sensei, did you say something?” Naruto said distractedly, he was still busy plotting his next moves against Gato. 

Kakashi stumbled backwards and clutched his chest as if he had taken a grievous wound. He shed a few tears. They were growing up so fast! 

“Ah. Nothing. Don’t worry about it Naruto.”

Naruto shrugged, “If you say so Sensei.”

“Alright we’ll start with Sasuke this time. Sasuke, as i said before I will be teaching you the electromagnetic murder jutsu. This jutsu releases a wave of electricity from your hands. You can vary its power from a small shock to a powerful stream of lighting depending on how much chakra you put into it. This is a short range attack so be mindful, though you can channel the electricity through other objects to attack an opponent. The hand seals are boar, ram, snake, horse, and dragon. Start small and then work your way up. Understood?”

Sasuke flashed through the hand seals once and then nodded at Kakashi. “I got it Sensei.” 

Kakashi watched his hand signs with an approving look and then turned to Kiba. “Next is Kiba. The clones generated by the rock clone jutsu don’t disappear when struck but revert back to rock. The hand signs are ram, monkey, horse, and ram. You know what clones can do, come up with some ideas for this jutsu.” 

“Okay Sensei! I'll have this down in no time just watch me.” 

“Hah. Dobe, you could barely get the normal Bunshin down.” Sasuke scoffed. 

“Hey! Shut up Sasuke! Bite me!” Kiba shouted. 

“Maa maa… Calm down. Go train already Sasuke. Start with the nature transformation exercise before starting the jutsu.” 

“Hn.”

“Now Naruto, how are you doing with that balloon?”

Naruto looked at the other two who had already wandered off to train. He hesitated, then he pulled out the balloon from the day before and popped it in Kakashi’s face. 

“Haha. Very funny.” Kakashi said drolly. 

_ ‘This kid just mastered the first step in a day?’ _ He thought. 

“Well? What’s next?” Naruto prodded when Kakashi refused to respond for a while. 

“Ah.” Kakashi pulled a rubber ball out from his pocket and tossed it at Naruto. Naruto caught the ball without much difficulty. “The next step is power. You do the same thing but with a rubber ball. Make the ball explode by forcing chakra into it. It's much harder without the water. You must increase the density and volume of your chakra output.” Kakashi said. 

Naruto looked at the ball in his hand and shot Kakashi a look. “You just had that in your pocket?” 

Kakashi stared evenly back. 

Naruto shrugged, he concentrated on the ball. Spin and power. 

Pop! The ball exploded into pieces. 

Kakashi’s jaw dropped. The power stage had taken him several days to do and his student just did it first try!

He sighed, Naruto was truly his Sensei’s son. 

“Here Naruto, the last step.” Kakashi took out another balloon and inflated it through his mask. “The last step is containment. You combine the first two steps into a contained sphere. If the balloon pops it means you’ve failed.” Kakashi handed it over. He expected that Naruto would have a much harder time with this last step. Naruto had exploded the rubber ball with too much ease after all. 

Naruto took the balloon in hand and concentrated again. Spin, power, and containment. His old mantra from when he was first developing the jutsu came back to him. The balloon in his hand began vibrating slightly, a sign of a successful Rasengan. 

Kakashi gave up. Naruto mastered the rasengan in two days, probably less since the first balloon he gave Naruto wasn’t even touched. 

Suddenly from the back of Minato’s mind a voice rang out, “ **So this is the jutsu that is your imitation of our Tailed Beast Bomb? Pathetic.”**

Minato grew a tick mark on his forehead. ‘ _ This jutsu took me three years to develop. It wasn't easy you know?  _

Kurama snickered as Minato dissipated the jutsu in the balloon. “ **It is so much weaker than the real thing.”**

_ ‘Not everyone has as much chakra as the tailed beasts. This was the best I could do as a human.’  _

**“Heh. That's because you are all weak you cannot possibly hope to match our strength.”**

**‘** _ And yet look who is sealed.’  _ Minato thought to himself wryly. 

**_‘_ ** _ Well you know what they say, ‘imitation is the greatest form of flattery…’’  _

_ “ _ **Hmph. Indeed. The Tailed Beast Bomb is one of our best abilities. You are a fool to hope to match it.”**

**‘** _ Perhaps you could teach me then? I don’t suppose you would want your vessel running about with a pale imitation after all.’  _

**“Do not think I cannot tell what you are doing. I will think on this.”**

**‘** _ Ahaha please do Kurama-san.’  _

Naruto then formed a Rasengan without the balloon and showed it to Kakashi. “So, what do you think Sensei?” 

Kakashi covered his face with a hand, “I think you are a ridiculous child. I thought you were supposed to be the least troublesome one? At the very least my worries about you going to assassinate Gato have subsided slightly.” 

“Aah. I thought they might, that's why I rushed through the steps just now.” 

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto’s head and ruffled his hair roughly. Naruto squirmed and batted his hand off with a huff. 

“Let’s go see how the others are doing.” Naruto said escaping Kakashi’s reach. 

Kakashi chuckled and followed behind Naruto sedately. 

Soon though, his young student would be staining his hands with blood. He worried for Naruto’s innocence. He didn’t want his student to lose that light in his eyes. Sometimes he felt that Naruto had grown too fast because of his less than stellar childhood. The kid was mature beyond his years and he often motherhenned Sasuke and Kiba even more than Kakashi did. Kakashi saw a lot of his Sensei in Naruto. It was almost painful. He often wondered if he would have cared less about Naruto if Naruto acted less like his father. Teaching Naruto was a little like having his Sensei back after all… 

Naruto slowed down a little from his previous quick pace, having sensed Kakashi’s sudden melancholy. He turned to him expectantly and asked, “Ne. Sensei… Are you alright?”

Kakashi started out of his depressive thoughts, he eye smiled at Naruto and motioned him along. 

Naruto tilted his head at Kakashi, maybe now was a good time? 

“Hey Sensei, why are you always so late?”

“Maa… I just get lost on the road of life every so often you know?” 

“Sensei. It’s not healthy to be in constant mourning. I’m sure your precious people would have wanted you to move on by now.” 

Kakashi didn’t have words for Naruto. Naruto walked back over to Kakashi and hugged him tightly. “I know it’s hard, but you have to move on.” 

Kakashi awkwardly peeled Naruto off of him and patted him on the head again. “Thanks Naruto, but now’s not a good time for this.” 

“Now is a fine time for this. You need to know that my father wouldn’t want you wallowing in grief constantly like this. Nor would Rin and Obito want you to waste your life away in front of the memorial stone.” 

Kakashi choked on his spit. “H-How? How do you?”

“My father’s journal had a lot of regrets in it you know? He regrets not being a better teacher for you Kakashi.” 

“No! He was an amazing teacher! Why would he have regrets?” Kakashi blurted out. 

Naruto smiled slightly sadly, “He wanted to be there more for you, he regretted not being able to pull you out of your depression.” 

Suddenly a shout of frustration came from up ahead of them interrupting the moment. 

Kakashi quickly walked off and Minato was left behind to wonder if his words had reached his old student. 

Kakashi and Minato arrived at another clearing where Kiba was beating up a human shaped lump of rock. 

“Stupid jutsu! I’ll get it this time just you watch Akamaru!”

Akamaru barked reprovingly. 

“Aww come on… Working on the exercise is so boring though.”

Akamaru huffed at Kiba and turned his back on him. 

“Fine. Fine. Akamaru I’ll work on the stupid mud thing.” Kiba huffily walked over to a rock and sat down. He scooped up a lump of mud and concentrated on it. “Dumb mud.” He muttered under his breath. 

Naruto chuckled under his breath. Kakashi chuckled as well, then disappeared to find Sasuke. Naruto quickly followed. 

Sasuke was sitting high up in a tree with his hands a few inches apart. His face was strained in concentration as he determinedly stared at the air between his hands. A few sparks flew between his hands but didn’t last long enough to create a current that Sasuke was aiming for. Sasuke growled and tried again. 

Minato smiled at the boy’s progress. Minato himself had difficulty with the lightning exercise as well. It had taken him two days to get to the point that Sasuke was at in one. But his wind and fire training on the other hand had gone much faster so he supposed he couldn't complain. 

Kakashi gestured to Naruto to follow him. Naruto obediently followed his teacher a little distance away from both his teammates. 

Kakashi crossed his arms once they had walked far enough, “So have you thought about what you’re going to do for the assassination?” 

Naruto nodded decisively at him, “I’m going to kill Gato using one of his mercenary’s weapons and make it look like they turned on him. I'll steal what I can and seal it into a sealing scroll and transfer the rights to the company to Konoha.”

Kakashi hummed, “Are you scouting his base tonight then?”

“Yeah, hopefully I can find an easy way in. Getting out should be no problem.” 

“Indeed… I’ll throw your kunai if Zabuza arrives to warn you.” 

“Sounds good.” 

“Be careful tonight. We don’t really need Sasuke or Kiba knowing, they’ll complain about being left out. Leave a shadow clone behind when you leave.” 

“Hai, Sensei.” 

That night Minato quietly slipped out of Tazuna’s house after Kiba had fallen asleep. For some reason Sasuke had decided to stay out and train that night. Minato henged into an old fisherman and went into town to collect information on where Gato’s base of operations was. He visited several bars and subtly pumped the bar goers for info. 

He soon learned the whereabouts of Gato’s and went to investigate with several clones. Naruto himself stayed out of Gato’s base while his clones henged as small animals and slipped inside. He simply stretched his senses out to the surroundings to see the amount of mercenaries Gato had in his employ. There were quite a few patrolling the base and Minato counted at least 130 in the base alone. Minato also felt the chakra signatures of Zabuza and his partner in the base. 

Gato’s base was interesting looking. It was essentially a very large triangular tree house suspended several feet in the air. 

It was connected to several other tree with large cables that any skilled shinobi could use to enter. 

Minato plotted out a good entrance that he could use and then vanished from the area.

  
  


The next morning Minato arrived at the breakfast table with a huge yawn. Tazuna chuckled at him and asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”

“Maa… something like that.” Naruto said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

Tazuna looked around the table and noted the missing member. “Sasuke stayed out all night huh?”

Kiba blinked sleepily and looked around the table, “Huh? Oh yeah. He’s been working real hard on mastering that new jutsu of his. If he runs out of chakra he could be laying dead somewhere though.” 

Tsunami brought a dish over to the table, “I hope he’s alright. It’s not good for a boy to spend a night outside all alone…” 

Kakashi lazily spoke from where he was sitting on the ground, “there’s nothing to worry about. Sasuke is a serious kid, he’s a full fledged ninja too. He can take care of himself.” 

“Bah.” Kiba waved his hand dismissively, “I'll go look for him later and see if he hasn’t killed himself.” 

  
  


Sasuke had fallen asleep on the forest floor after exhausting himself with training. A few small sparrows landed on and around him chirping happily. 

A beautiful youth in a pink kimono stood over him with a thoughtful expression on their face. They crouched and reached down towards his neck before suddenly, their hand was grabbed. Sasuke opened his eyes, 

“What are you doing?” Sasuke asked harshly.

“I was going to wake you, you’ll catch a cold sleeping on the ground like this.” The youth calmly replied with a smile. 

“Oh. Thank you but the concern is unnecessary.” Sasuke replied sitting up. 

“Very well then, I’ll leave you to it.” The youth said standing up again 

Sasuke tilted his head curiously, “What are you doing out here so early?” 

“I’m picking medicinal herbs for a friend of mine, they’re sick.” 

“I see…Do you need any help?”

“Oh why thank you! Please gather a few plant that look like this.” They said holding up a certain plant.

Sasuke nodded and set about gathering plants from the clearing. 

They worked in silence for a while before the youth asked, “So what were you doing in the middle of nowhere at the crack of dawn?”

Sasuke grunted, “Training.” 

The youth looked up at him slightly startled, “Really? That headband of yours… Are you some kind of ninja?” 

“Hn.” Sasuke nodded slightly. 

“Wow that's incredible. What are you training for?”

“To get stronger.” 

“Oh? But you look so strong already?”

Sasuke looked away. “Hn. There are many others out there that are stronger than me.” 

“But why do you need strength so badly?”

Sasuke pauses from picking herbs and sat back, “...There’s a certain person who I’m chasing, I have to become stronger than they are to learn the truth…” 

The youth leaned forwards slightly, “Are you doing this for the sake of that person or yourself?” 

Sasuke tilted his head in confusion and quirked a brow. 

The youth chuckled slightly, “Do you have anyone special in your life?” They paused in thought for a bit, a somber expression passed across their face. “I believe when people are protecting something truly precious to them. They truly can become as strong as they must be!” 

Sasuke leaned back and thought on their words for a bit. He thought about the remaining family he had. He thought about Haruka’s innocence, Izumi’s love, Yamada’s pranks, Izuru’s laziness, Genki’s awkwardness, Sachi’s energy, and Haruto’s cheer. He thought about Naruto’s steady presence and Kiba’s constant exuberance. He thought about Kakashi’s calmness and various quirks. 

He nodded at the youth. 

The youth smiled and stood to leave, they turned to walk away, “You will get stronger. I know we’ll meet again.”

Sasuke stood and grunted in response. 

Kiba ran up to them but quickly stopped once he caught sight of the youth. He drooled a bit but recovered his mind in an instant, “Hey! Sasuke! You missed breakfast you looser! And hellooo beautiful what are you doing out here all on your own? You need any help with anything? I’m super strong! I bet I can help you with whatever you need!” He bragged. 

The youth quickened his pace as he walked away, “I’m a boy you know?” He shot over his back as he disappeared into the woods. 

Kiba’s jaw dropped. He spluttered wildly and flailed his arms. He looked at Sasuke, “B-but he was so pretty! H-he was prettier than the girls at the academy!” 

Sasuke stood there deep in thought, he had a few suspicions about the boy but he wasnt sure of anything. 

  
  


A few days later Kakashi had recovered enough to begin exercising again. He enlisted the help of both Tazuna and Naruto to sit on his back as he did push ups on one finger. 

Tazuna spoke as he was lifted up and down by Kakashi, “I keep meaning to ask you. You know I duped you about how dangerous this mission was to get you to come here… So why do you stay?” 

“‘To know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward. Like master like man!’ Those are the teachings of some of our previous Hokage. This is the Shinobi way of life… True Shinobi do not merely dance to the tune of whoever pays the piper.” Kakashi replied. 

Minato smiled, he remembered saying those exact words to Kakashi once. To think he had remembered throughout all these years. He was truly proud of the man Kakashi had become. 

Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Sasuke and Kiba had returned from training with triumphant looks. They both explained that they had mastered their respective jutsus and that was it. Tazuna laughed at their battered appearances while Kakashi congratulated them. Both boys ate much more sedately. They ate carefully to avoid throwing up and wasting food again. 

Inari glared resentfully at them as Tazuna and Tsunami chattered in the background. 

Tears began pooling at the corners of Inari’s eyes as he stared at Kiba’s contented resting form. 

Kiba looked up at the crying boy curiously, “What’s wrong kid?” 

Inari stood and slammed his hands on the table, “Why do you wear yourself out trying!? No matter how hard you train you’ll never be a match for Gato’s thugs! You act all cool and talk all tough. But big strong guys like Gato’s thugs are always too much for people weaker than they are. They’ll destroy you!!” 

“Feh. I’m not you kid. You don't know a thing about me. Who knows maybe I’ve beaten up one or two big strong guys in the past.” Kiba said. 

“And you don't know a thing about me! You don't know a thing about suffering or loneliness or what my life is like!” Inari shouted back. 

“Hmph. Don’t assume things brat.” Sasuke said standing with his head lowered. “You big crybaby you think it’s alright to just sit around moping? Why don’t you do something to improve your situation then?” Sasuke stood and left the room. 

Inari sat there sobbing quietly. Naruto sighed, “Inari… Sasuke and I probably understand you better than anyone else here.”

Inari looked up at him confused. 

“Sasuke’s family was murdered by his brother. He understands loneliness better than anyone else. I grew up on my own without parents, family, or friends. Neither of us cries much, mostly because we’ve learned that crying doesn’t accomplish anything. Besides, you keep trying to make us leave. Does that mean you don’t believe in your grandpa’s dream? 

“No! Absolutely not! What do you mean!?” Inari shouted.

“Well you see. If we leave that means Gato will be free to kill your grandpa. If we stay there’s a chance to keep your grandpa alive so that he can free Wave from Gatos control yes? Your grandpa knows what it means to be strong and what it costs. As well as what it's worth. Just like your father.” 

Inari’s eyes widened. Tazuna and Tsunami smiled at each other. Kakashi had a proud smile hidden by his mask, Naruto had said exactly what he’d wanted to say to Inari. 

Inari looked wonderingly at his grandpa who smiled wryly back at him. He got up and hugged the old man tightly, sniffling into his shirt. Tazuna hugged Inari back just as tightly, rocking the boy gently. 


	21. Murky Days

“How come Naruto’s not coming with us?” Kiba asked swinging his arms wildly as he walked. 

“Hmm… Well Naruto said he wanted to train a little more today.” Kakashi answered. 

Sasuke huffed and wacked Kiba on the shoulder so he would stop swinging his arms. Kiba rubbed his shoulder huffily and pouted to Akamaru who yapped at him as well. 

The true reason Naruto wasn’t accompanying Tazuna to the bridge was the assassination of Gato. Naruto had stayed behind at Tazuna’s house to prepare.

Soon, Naruto was waving goodbye to Tsunami and Inari as he set off into the forest. 

Arriving at the bridge, Tazuna and team seven were greeted by a horrifying sight. Bridge workers were laid out all over the place and blood stained the freshly laid planks of the bridge.

“What the hell?” Tazuna shouted. He rushed up to the closest worker, gently lifting him up and asking desperately, “What happened? What could have-?” 

The man in his arms coughed weakly, “M-monsters” he wheezed out. 

Kakashi readied himself, Zabuza was most likely back then. 

“Get ready.” He snapped at Kiba and Sasuke. Sasuke pulled out several shuriken and kunai while Kiba dropped into his fighting stance. Thick fog rolled in from the sea and settled over the bridge obscuring the group’s vision. 

Kakashi activated Naruto’s one way barrier for Tazuna and stepped out of it. Leaving Tazuna in a small dome shaped barrier by himself. 

“Kakashi-sensei! This fog!” Kiba shouted while Akamaru whined. 

“Aah. Kiba, it’s most likely Zabuza’s ‘hiding in the mist’ jutsu.”

Sasuke began to tremble as the group waited with bated breaths. 

“It's been a while Kakashi. And I see you’ve got those brats tagging along just like last time. Poor boys are trembling again, poor things.” 

Sasuke smirked confidently as Kiba bared his teeth at the mist. “I’m shaking eagerly for a rematch!” Sasuke declared. 

The mist shifted slightly. A hoard of Zabuza clones was revealed to the group surrounding them with sharp swords. 

Kakashi smiled, “Go ahead, Sasuke, Kiba.” 

Sasuke and Kiba disappeared.

All that could be seen for several seconds were blurs along with the bright flashes of a speedy kunai blade and splashes of water. The Zabuza clones were dispatched in an instant as Sasuke and Kiba returned to their positions around Tazuna’s dome. 

Zabuza stepped out of the mist with his hunter nin partner standing by his side. “Well! My water clones were obviously no match for you! It seems the brats have matured quite a bit… into worthy rivals. Eh, Haku?” 

“Indeed…” His partner replied. 

“Ya got some nerve showing up after that act you pulled!” Kiba shouted, pointing at Haku. 

“Kiba. With me. This one is ours.” Sasuke said crouching a bit. 

“Yeah thats what I’m talking about!” Kiba exclaimed crouching as well. 

“Impressive kids aren’t they? Even if your water clones only have a tenth of the strength of the original. It's amazing that they were able to remove them so well.” Haku said to Zabuza. 

“We’re still on the offensive here. Go!” Zabuza barked. 

“Yes, sir.”

Haku disappeared in a shunshin. 

Sasuke and Kiba charged forward and clashed with Haku. Senbon, claws, and kunai met in a shower of sparks. 

  
  


Naruto raced through the trees in the direction of Gato’s base. Kakashi had thrown his kunai informing him that Zabuza had arrived at the bridge. The chance was now!

But just as Naruto was about to leap to the next branch he saw something that made him pause momentarily and turn back the way he came. 

Slash! Crash!

The door to Tazuna’s house was suddenly chopped down. Tsunami who was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen froze. Two fierce looking men walked in with swords strapped to their waists. 

The one on the right was dressed in a long coat and black pants while the one on the right had an eye patch over his right eye and was shirtless, covered in tattoos. 

The one on the right spoke first, “Tazuna’s daughter huh? Sorry but you’re coming with us.”

Inari was washing his hands in the bathroom when there was a loud crash and his mother screamed. 

He ran out of the bathroom to find two men looming over his mother in the kitchen. His mother was backed up against the counter and trembling as she stared at the men with their swords. 

“Mama!” He yelled in worry. 

The two men turned to him at the same time, the one on the left spoke “What do you want brat?” 

“Run Inari! Don't come in!” Tsunami yelled frantically. 

“Should we grab him too?” The left one asked. 

“We only need on hostage.” The right one said. 

Inari flinched behind the doorway. Hostage? They were going to take his mom? 

The eyepatched man drew his sword slowly, “Heh heh too bad… For him!” 

“Wait!” Tsunami shouted. “If you dare touch my child I’ll bite through my tongue and drown in my own blood. The what will you do for a live hostage?” 

Tears slowly dripped down Inari’s face. 

The right man laughed, “Be grateful to your mom kiddo.” 

“Aw, man… but I’m dying to cut someone!” The left man said. 

“Relax. You gave your blade a pretty good workout before we even got here. So get over it and let's go.” His partner said to him. 

Inari sobbed behind the door frame as the two men tied his mother's hands together and dragged her away. 

He cursed himself for being so weak. He was afraid! He didn’t want to die! Inari cried furiously as he bemoaned his weakness. Then suddenly Sasuke’s voice came to him again, ‘You big crybaby you think it’s alright to just sit around moping? Why don’t you do something to improve your situation then?’. Inari remembered what Naruto had said, ‘we’ve learned that crying doesn’t accomplish anything’. He looked at his hands. Inari thought about what his father had told him before, ‘if something is precious to you. Protect it with all your strength! Even at the cost of your own life!’. 

‘ _ Everyone else is so awesome. So cool. And strong… Can I? Could I be strong too Daddy?’  _ Inari thought. He wiped his eyes and stood. 

The eyepatched man leered over Tsunami’s shoulder as they walked. “Heh heh…. Such beautiful skin. So smooth and lovely. It's a shame not to be able to cut it.” 

“Stop dawdling!” His partner snapped. 

Just as they were about to leave the premises of the house a voice rang out. 

“WAIT!” Inari shouted. “Y-you get away from my mama!”

The boy charged the two men with a roar as they laughed. 

“This kid is a waste of space!” 

“Just cut him!”

“Yeah!”

They slashed at Inari with their swords as Tsunami screamed and closed her eyes. 

The men’s eyes widened as their swords chopped into a log instead of a small boy. 

“Kawarimi?!” They shouted in confusion. 

A voice rang out behind them, “Sorry! I can’t let you do that!”

Inari opened his eyes. When did he close them? And looked up at a smiling blonde. 

“Good job distracting them so I could save your mother Inari!” Naruto chirped. 

“N-naruto!” Inari exclaimed. 

“Hey isn't that one of Tazuna’s body guards?” Eyepatch said. 

“Yeah.” the other one said. 

“Let’s get em!”

They wildly charged at Naruto, hands on the hilts of their swords. 

Naruot lazily lobbed a kunai that landed behind the two men. 

Both men laughed, “Hah! You can’t even aim right! You’re dead!”

Naruto smirked. “I wasn’t aiming for you.” 

He suddenly vanished from where he was standing and then the two men knew no more. 

Inari gaped at Naruto. He had simply chopped both men on the back of their necks. Naruto had just taken down two of Gatos men without breaking a sweat! 

He turned to Naruto after he’d finished tying up the henchmen and asked, “Naruto… how’d you know that those guys were coming?”

Naruto smiled at him kindly, “I saw a boar that had been sliced to ribbons and several slash marks on the trees going in the direction of your house. But that doesn’t matter. Inari you need to know that you are one brave kid. You did well.”

Inari teared up a bit. He sniffled to himself, “Aww no. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry any more. Sasuke will call me a cry baby again…” 

Naruto patted Inari on the head, “He would be wrong then. And it's okay to cry when you’re happy you know?” 

Naruto turned to leave, “if they’ve attacked here as well that means their going to the bridge, you stay here we’ll be back with your grandpa in no time alright?” 

Inari wiped his tears and nodded happily. 

“Good boy.” Naruto smiled and then vanished again, shocking Inari. 

Landing in the forest where he’d seen the stuck boar, Naruto continued his way to Gatos base. He had to hurry he wasn't sure how long his team could hold off Zabuza. He should have stuck a Hiraishin tag on Gato’s base when he was scouting. Naruto cursed himself, he’d fallen out of his old habit of leaving tags everywhere he went. He didn’t expect Gato to attack the house, though it should have occurred to him. He’d have to mark his teammates once he got back as well. At least Kakashi had a tagged kunai on him so that Minato could reach him. 

Naruto dashed through the trees at a breakneck pace, releasing his resistance seals as he went. He accelerated into a yellow blur as he fully released his seals. His resistance seals normally had ten levels, he usually stayed on level 10 for every day activities and released to level 5 spar with Kakashi. Soon he would have to increase his level of resistance again he thought. 

  
  


Kiba, Sasuke, and Haku leapt away from each other, blurring into high speed combat once again. 

Kakashi and Zabuza were both surprised that their opponents could keep up with their respective apprentice’s speed. 

Sasuke and Kiba rushed Haku again, Haku held off their claws and kunai with a thin senbon in both hands. 

“I don’t want to have to kill you two but… you probably won't leave quietly will you?” 

“Hell no!” Kiba shouted. 

“Don’t be stupid.” Sasuke said. 

Haku strained against both boys, he blocked a blow from Kiba with his left hand and a slash from Sasuke with his right. 

Haku jumped backwards, disengaging from the strength contest between him and the other two. He threw the senbon in his left hand at kiba and flashed through signs with one hand. 

Kiba, Sasuke, and Kakashi all gaped at the feat. One handed seals? How was this possible? 

Haku stamped on the ground twice and summoned up a storm of ice needles. Kiba and Sasuke pumped chakra into their legs and dodged the formidable onslaught. 

Haku jumped backwards dodging Sasuke’s thrown shuriken. 

“You’re not actually all that fast.” Sasuke said appearing behind Haku while dual wielding kunai. He slashed at Haku only to be blocked with a senbon again. Kiba then landed a devastating kick on Haku’s abdomen while he was occupied by Sasuke. 

“You're fast, but we’re faster.” Kiba said smirking. Akamaru barked from the sidelines. 

Haku grunted as he recovered from the blow. 

“You had that coming for underestimating my team. He may not look like much but Sasuke here was the rookie of the year from Konoha and Kiba was one of out best taijutsu students. 

Last but not least lets not forget our most unpredictable ninja yet. The one and only Naruto.” Kakashi said smugly. 

Zabuza began laughing. “Haku… You understand if this goes on, you could end up dying at the hands of the very person you sought to spare?” 

Haku stood again, “Yes I do… What a pity.” A cold fog began rising from his body. Haku formed a unique hand sign and ice coalesced around Kiba and Sasuke, forming into large mirrors with harsh cracking sounds. A dome of mirrors surrounded the boys, caging them in. 

Kiba shouted at Akamaru as he was surrounded, “Akamaru stay out of this!”

Akamaru whined piteously in reply.

Kakashi lowered his head warily, he didn’t recognize this technique! 

Haku stepped  _ into _ the ice mirror in front of him, melding with it and reflecting several times over in the many mirrors surrounding the boys. 

Kakashi dashed towards the ice dome in worry but he was quickly blocked by Zabuza. Zabuza took a stance in front of him, “Let’s not forget…  _ I’m  _ your enemy. Our children can play together while my boy kills yours.” 

Kiba and Sasuke faced the mirrors back to back wondering what their opponent was planning. 

“Now. Let me show you some real speed!” Haku declared lifting a senbon needle in his hand. 

Sasuke and kiba screamed out as a flurry of needles grazed their flesh, slashing them and causing innumerable wounds in an instant. 

Kakashi’s eyes widened, “Kiba! Sasuke!” He called out moving towards them. 

“Any sudden moves and I kill the old man!” Zabuza said with a sick grin. 

Kakashi halted, “You!” 

Sasuke and Kiba panted within the ice prison as the onslaught paused for a second. 

‘ _ Damn, the cuts are mostly superficial. He’s killing me by inches. Death by a thousand cuts? I can’t figure out what technique he’s using! His clones all hide in the mirrors and then strike at the same time! I don't even see him move. I can’t even spot his weapons trajectory!’  _ Sasuke thought. 

“Kiba! Do you see how he’s moving?”

“No… it can’t be clones the ice mirrors have something to do with it but I don't know what!” 

Sasuke flipped through hand signs ‘ _ If its ice then! Katon!’  _ Sasuke inhaled and then exhaled a great gout of flame toward the mirrors he faced. A sea of flames engulfed the area. The flames slowly died down revealing several untouched mirrors. 

Kiba gasped, “It didn’t melt?” 

Haku prepared another round of needles, “That pitiful flame will barely touch my ice mirrors…” He shifted and another salvo of needles came flying at the two boys. 

“Gah!”

“Augh!” 

Kiba roared in frustration, “If they won't melt I'll just break them! Gatsuga!” 

Kiba crouched and leapt up, he spun into a drill and crashed into a set of mirrors. He was bounced off unceremoniously and he crashed into the ground dazed. 

He was rewarded with another shower of spikes from all directions. 

“Which one of you is real!?” Kiba roared. He flipped through hand seals and spat out a clump of earth. A few earth clones formed and he and sent them in different directions to attack Haku. 

Haku make easy work of them. Reducing them to lumps of earth once again. 

“Your eyes will never see the truth. I can't be caught.” Haku said icily. 

Kiba roared and formed more clones that charged the mirrors with Gatsugas. 

Haku appeared in mirror to their left, “Hmph. The technique I’m using is part of the art of teleportation. The only tool I need to perform it is my mirrors. I move so quickly the pair of you might as well be standing still!”

Kakashi’s eyes widened. “So that's it. I never imagined anyone could master such a technique at so young an age.”

Tazuna appeared thoroughly lost in this ninja battle. ‘“Such a technique?’” He stuttered out. 

“A genetic trait running through the bloodlines of those of the purest Shinobi pedigree. Some of the most extraordinary techniques are handed down from generation to generation solely on that basis. Its of the same order of skill as my Sharingan eye… but even my Sharingan can’t copy this technique!” Kakashi explained. 

“Kiba use the clones as shields!” Sasuke shouted. 

Kiba picked himself up and created a group of clones to surround them. The clones bought a few precious moments of safety before they crumbled back into dirt walls. 

“Kiba I have an idea. Get on top of an earth clone.” Sasuke whispered to Kiba. 

Kiba stared at Sasuke for a bit “...Gotcha.” 

Kiba weaved a few seals and climbed on top of a double that suddenly appeared. 

Sasuke flipped through hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. A stream of lightning appeared between his hands and shot out towards the mirrors electrocuting them. 

Unfortunately the attack had no effect on the ice mirrors and consequently Haku. 

Haku paused from his attacks briefly, “I can’t help but prefer that the pair of you… Not force me to kill you. However if you two are going to come at me I shall kill my own heart. Please try not to resent me but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect the one I care about most… to fight, kill, or die to fulfill that person's dreams. Doing so is my own dream.” Haku lowered his face and raise his senbon. “To that end I will become a true Shinobi… And I shall kill you both.” 

Naruto centered himself as he quietly inched along the corridor towards Gato’s room. So far everything had been smooth sailing. There had only been a few wandering guards that he was able to easily avoid, but the true goal lay ahead. From his scouting reports, Gato had two samurai he constantly kept with him named Zori and Waraji. He’d already dispatched them since they came for Tsunami so the next step would be to kill Gato himself. He’d stolen a sword from somewhere in the base and was prepared to use it to end Gato’s miserable life at anytime. Minato climbed the walls with chakra and stuck to the ceiling he pushed open the door and darted into the room in the blink of an eye. 

Kakashi tsked, “Tch. Even if I knew how to counter that technique Sasuke and Kiba still wouldn’t be able to defeat that boy.”

“Eh. What do you mean?” Tazuna asked worriedly. 

“Those two… they don't have the strength to kill just yet. That boy has lived with the kind of emotional anguish that prepared him to be a true shinobi.”

“No true shinobi could ever be born in a place like your village. A place of weakness and peace. You don't live with death or grow up needing to kill to endure your own survival. The skills and the mindset they require to become a shinobi die within you!” Zabuza cruelly declared.

Kakashi reached for his Hitai-ate, “You’ll have to forgive me if I put an end to this…” 

Zabuza scoffed, “Your going to use the Sharingan? So vulgar, so obvious, and lacking in finesse!”

Zabuza charged before Kakashi could pull his head band up and stabbed at Kakashi with his single bladed Kiri kunai. 

Blocking with his left hand, Kakashi glared at Zabuza, “You can sneer about my ‘lack of finesse’ Zabuza. But it doesn’t change that you are afraid of the Sharingan and me.”

Zabuza chuckled, “Heh. A ninja's secret weapon should be employed judiciously, not at every random foe!”

“You should feel privileged. No one has ever lived to see the Sharingan a second time. And no one will ever see it thrice!”

“By all means, defeat me. If you can. You still won't have what it takes to kill Haku! Since he was a toddler I've beaten fighting skills into him! His skills surpass even my own, and he bears the legacy of a formidable Kekkei Genkai! Thus I have with me a weapon of matchless quality! Entirely unlike those scraps of trash that follow you blindly!” 

Kakashi pulled up his hitai-ate revealing his blood red eye. “Is there anything duller than listening to someone else brag? It's showtime!”

Zabuza backed up a bit, “Frankly I’ve been dying to steal a phrase from you since our last meeting. Just so you know, the same jutsu wont work twice! Having had the chance to see it in action… I now understand the workings of your Sharingan eye!” Zabuza formed a hand seal, “Allow me to brag a little more. Haku is extremely intelligent, he was able to analyze and understand your tricks. With his understanding he can develop effective countermeasures.” 

A thick mist began to form around Zabuza hiding him from sight. 

Kakashi heard a faint whirring, he quickly pulled out a kunai and deflected several shuriken aimed at him. 

Zabuza appeared behind him with his eyes closed and his hand held in a half ram seal, “You deflected those nicely, as expected. However, the next time you see me it will be you end. You’ve overestimated your Sharingan.” Zabuza faded out of sight once more.

  
  


Sasuke rallied himself once more as Haku prepared another round of deadly needles. Haku had begun landing his shots, embedding needles into various acupuncture points in Sasuke and Kiba’s bodies. After each round of needles the boys slowed down more and more. 

Sasuke grunted as he pushed himself up, his eyes were beginning to adjust to the foggy environment and fast paced action. Haku had begun to aim at vital areas that would surely kill him. Sasuke had dodged every attempt thus far but he had been keeping an eye out for Kiba as well. Sasuke was beginning to see a pattern in Haku’s movements but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. 

“You move well. But my next assault will take you down!” Haku declared readying his senbon. 

Sasuke focused on Haku’s movements. Every shift and breath was clinically analyzed. He concentrated. He saw. 

The instant Haku shifted to attack Sasuke was dodging. He avoided Haku’s needles by a hair's breadth, dragging a battered Kiba along with him. 

Haku reeled back in shock as Sasuke glared at him with crimson eyes. Sasuke had two tomoe in his right eye and one in his left. 

‘ _ Those eyes! It can't be! Sharingan?’ _ Haku thought. 

“You’re! I see… you, too, shared the legacy of a Kekkei Genkai.” He said. 

‘ _ What an amazing boy. To find that ability and force it to awaken in the heat of battle!’  _

“I’m afraid I can’t let this fight go on! My jutsu burns an incredible amount of chakra to maintain, I’m certain if this goes much longer… You will begin reading my movements.”

Haku lowered his head. It was time to end this. 

  
  


Kakashi grunted as he was slashed across the chest but Zabuza’s large sword. 

“You were slow on your guard Kakashi! Your desire to save those brats has caused the blood to go to your head! Obscuring your thoughts and vision as surely as the fog I’ve created! Your ability to read my movements has dulled! I want to enjoy this Kakashi! Paying you back would bring me the greatest of pleasures!” Zabuza hefted his sword once again. “Don’t worry. Haku should be finishing off those brats about now… I’ll reunite you with them shortly. You can apologize to them in the after-life!” 

“Hmph. Don’t think it will be so easy! I have faith in their strength. Sasuke is also heir to one of the most superior bloodlines of Konoha!” Kakashi replied defiantly. 

Zabuza started, “You don’t mean…” 

“That's right. His full name is Uchiha Sasuke. He’s a prodigy who carries in his genes the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan!” 

“So he’s one of the surviving members of that tragic clan huh?” Zabuza formed the ram seal and faded away into the mist again. “So he may indeed be Haku’s equal… No one has deciphered Haku’s jutsu until now…” 

Kakashi glared into the fog. “Zabuza, you don't think I really survived this long only depending on the Sharingan. Do you? I too was once a member of my village’s ANBU. I’ll show you the kind of Shinobi I once was. I’ll show you my own original jutsu!”

Suddenly a familiar voice rang out into the fog. 

“STOP!!” 

A blast of wind blew through the bridge, clearing the fog and revealing all the fighters. Naruto stood in the center of the bridge with a stack of papers. 

“Zabuza! Gato is going to betray you! There’s no point in fighting to kill Tazuna anymore! What I have in my hands is a report to Kiri’s hunter nin about your dead body!” 

Zabuza and Haku paused for a moment, they exchanged glances. 

Zabuza scoffed, “Hah! As if I would believe you at this moment! How do we know your telling the truth kid? This could just be a ploy to save your friends.”

“Its true!” Naruto brandished the sheet violently, “Here is Gato’s signature and everything! And would you really trust a parasite like Gato to not betray you after he was done using you?” 

Zabuza extended a hand to Naruto “Kid. Give me that.” 

Naruto cautiously approached Zabuza, readying his Hiraishin to escape if necessary. He handed the papers over to Zabuza and waited with bated breath as the man read them. Zabuza looked back up at Naruto, he looked back down at the sheet, then at Naruto again. “How did you get this kid?”

“I was going to assassinate Gato while you were distracted at the bridge. He wasn’t at the base when I arrived. I found those papers on his desk when I was raiding this base for any valuables.” 

Zabuza turned to Kakashi and laughed, “Heh. A true shinobi you got here Kakashi.” 

A voice suddenly called out across the bridge, “Zabuza!” 

It was Gato leading a huge army of thugs, mercenaries, and bandits. 

“Gato… What are you doing here? And why did you bring all of  _ them?”  _ Zabuza asked menacingly. 

Gato chuckled, “There’s been a slight change of plans Zabuza. Or of your plans anyways. This is what I had in mind all along. You’re going to die ‘Demon’ here and now.”

“What?”

“You must have guessed. I never intended to pay you. Its such a bother hiring skilled shinobi from the top villages. It’s expensive and they tend to have friends that object heavily when I betray and kill them. Nuke nin are so much simpler. No one cares what I do to your kind once the job is done.” Gato tapped his cane against the bridge. “All you ninjas are so eager to fight each other. Once you’ve worn each other down common thugs can finish off the rest. Its a great business plan- efficient and inexpensive. My only mistake was hiring you in the first place. Calling yourself the ‘Demon of the Mist’ is just plain false advertising!” He laughed heartily, “You’re no demon… More like a baby demon at best.” 

The thugs laughed along with their boss. 

“We’ll take you down with no sweat with our numbers!”

“You can’t possibly hope to beat this many people!”

“You’re gonna die!” 

Zabuza turned to Kakashi, “Forgive me Kakashi… Our fight is over. I no longer have any reason to want to assassinate Tazuna. That settles our differences. Haku!” 

Haku released his ice crystal mirrors jutsu and jumped to Zabuza’s side. “Hai!” 

Zabuza brandished his sword and charged forwards. 

Gato yelled and pushed his way to the back of the crowd, “Enough what are you waiting for? Kill all of them!” 

“Even if you’re a ninja, you’re dead against all of us!” Someone shouted confidently 

“You don’t stand a chance!” 

“Come at us!” 

Zabuza easily cleaved through the crowd of riffraff as Haku covered his approach with a rain of needles. Any mercenary looking to stab Zabuza in the back was met with a needle to the eye or another vital point. Zabuza danced in the crowd in a shower of blood and gore. His sword swung in wide sweeps decapitating heads and severing limbs. Zabuza’s chakra and killing intent manifested a fearsome aura that shrouded him with the guise of a demon. He plowed wildly through the mob as he aimed straight for Gato. 

“I’ll show you who’s a Baby Demon!” Zabuza yelled as he reached Gato. 

He whipped his sword around in a shining horizontal circle and cleanly removed Gato’s head from his body. 

The crowd was frantic as they tried to escape both the rain of death Haku enacted and the Demon wrecking havoc among them. They piled onto the ship at the end of the bridge desperately, many falling into the water below in their haste to escape. 

Naruto and Kakashi watched in silence as Zabuza slaughtered his way through the rest of the remaining mob. Naruto’s eyes were a cold icy blue, it reminded Kakashi of the hard expression his Sensei often wore during the war. He was secretly pleased that Naruto did not have to spill any blood just yet.

“Sensei, I have acquired the rights to Gato’ s company and whatever riches he had lying around his base.” Naruto said. 

“Aah. Good job Naruto. Please release the barrier around Tazuna. I’ll check on Sasuke and Kiba. We’ve had enough excitement for today…”

“Hai Sensei.” 


	22. Clear Days

Inari quietly snuck a peek at Zabuza’s huge blade leaning against the wall. 

“Hey, Kid. That's dangerous.” Zabuza said gruffly. 

Inari eeped and backed off quickly. 

Zabuza and Haku had been awkwardly invited to stay at Tazuna’s house. They were currently eating dinner peacefully but there was an unspoken tension surrounding Sasuke, Kiba and Haku. 

Both boys were rather miffed at having been saved by Naruto’s timely intervention and were raring for a rematch. Haku had apologized for trying to kill them but had been awkwardly waved off. 

Surprisingly enough Kakashi and Zabuza hit it off as pretty great friends. They were now joking around over how much work it was to train a brat from a small child to seasoned Shinobi and swapping teaching tips. Naruto laughed awkwardly in the corner. He badly wanted to join in but no one would get where he was coming from. 

“So… Zabuza…” Kakashi began, “What are you planning on doing next?” 

Zabuza put down the cup of tea he had been drinking from and stared at it. “I think I’m going to return to Kiri. Now that you’ve given us half of what you found in Gato’s base I have enough to start funding the rebellion back in Kiri.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were working for a man like Gato?” Naruto asked. ‘ _ No wonder his headband isn’t slashed like a typical nuke nin, he still considers himself a loyal Kiri shinobi.’  _ Minato thought. 

“Indeed. Short and bad tempered slug, I would have never taken a contract from him if I didn’t need the money.” 

Haku chuckled in the corner along with Zabuza as he thought about how he had originally broken Gato’s arm. The man deserved a lot more than a broken arm. Zabuza was merciful in ending his life so quickly and cleanly. 

Naruto perked up hearing Haku laugh, he suddenly remembered a small tidbit Kiba mentioned about their fight. 

“Hey Haku-san? Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did, but please go ahead.” Haku replied. 

“Kiba mentioned that you were able to perform one handed seals, is that part of your Kekkei Genkai or can anyone learn to do it?” 

“Ah! What a good question. I learned by myself how to use my Kekkei Genkai and experimented with different hand seals until I could perform jutsu with one hand. Half of it is discovering the right seals to use with one hand and the other half is high chakra control. I’m sure anyone could learn how to mold chakra with one hand if they discovered the correct seals after all.” 

Minato rubbed his chin deep in thought, “Hoh, is that so?” 

“Hey why don't more people use one handed seals?” Kiba asked. 

“I’m sure most people don't know you can do one handed seals. The theory behind sealless jutsu is to reduce the number of hand seals you require until you can perform it seallessly, but I haven't heard of one handed seals until today. The half ram is commonly used, but only for simple E-ranked jutsu.” Naruto explained, “I will have to study this topic a bit more when we get back…” 

Sasuke imagined casting the great fireball jutsu with one hand. He would be eager to learn such a technique if Naruto could figure out one handed seals. 

Minato himself preferred sealless jutsus, it was part of the reason he had developed the Rasengan without the use of hand seals to mold chakra. The Hiraishin and Rasengan were both sealless and he had spent effort in learning how to do various E-ranks without seals too. One handed seals would benefit his fighting style greatly. 

“Sasuke-San may I speak with you outside?” Haku asked rather abruptly. 

“Huh? Um. Alright…” Sasuke stood and followed Haku out of the room. 

  
  


Haku leaned against the side of Tzauna’s house casually as Sasuke walked up to him. 

“I wanted to speak with you… because I feel we are similar in many ways…” 

Sasuke tilted his head but didn’t say anything in response. 

Haku sighed, hesitated and then began, “Once I was precious. I belonged to… Parents. I was born in a snowy little village in Kirigakure. I was happy, my parents were good, kind people. But something happened just as I was getting old enough to notice the world around me…” 

“What happened?” Asked Sasuke crossing his arms. 

Haku looked down at the ground forlornly, “My father killed my mother… And tried to kill me.” 

Sasuke started but didn’t respond. 

“You might know that Kiri has been the scene of generations of non-stop war between those with Kekkei Genkai and those who don't. Kekkei Genkai holders were condemned as the harbingers of doom. After the wars those who possessed a bloodline were hunted and were only able to survive by hiding the very existence of their skills. Exposure meant certain death. I’m sure you must know of the pain of which I speak. We are special. We are powerful. And we are feared.

Sasuke turned to face the side, he couldn't bear to look at Haku. He had lived a cushy life in Konoha until his brother had… True the Uchiha were feared, but they were respected in equal measure. He hadn’t yet experienced what Haku spoke of. 

“My father learned that my mother came from such a clan… And before I even realized what I was about to do. My father died by my hand…” Haku continued. “It came to me then. I was forced to accept that… the most painful thing in this world… Was aspecting that I was alone in this world. Superfluous. Unwanted. Shunned. 

Sasuke clenched his fists and grit his teeth. He imagined if he were the sole survivor of that night he might have felt the same.

“Zabuza-sama adopted me knowing I came from a Kekkei Genkai clan. The very thing that made everyone else hate me. He didn’t just overlook it. He cherished it. He wanted it!” Haku teared up. “It made me so happy!”

“Why are you telling me this?” Sasuke snapped. 

“I feel that you can understand me. That you can relate, yes? So… Sasuke-san. May we be friends?” 

Sasuke turned back to Haku, “...Fine…” he said. Blushing slightly and shoving his hands into his pockets. 

Haku smiled happily, “Thank you very much Sasuke-san.” He stretched a hand out to Sasuke to shake, Sasuke scratched his head awkwardly and took Haku’s hand and shook it. 

Naruto who had been around the corner of Tazuna’s house with Zabuza smiled at Zabuza wryly, “You should tell him how you really feel about him you know?” He whispered. “I can tell, you care about him much more than just as a simple weapon.” 

Zabuza huffed and put his hand on Naruto’s face and shoved him away.

  
  


Several days later Team Seven bid goodbye to Zabuza and Haku. Haku waved happily at the team as they left and Kakashi and Zabuza bumped arms. Haku seemed much cheerier than several aye before when they left and he stuck close to Zabuza as they walked away. 

“ **I liked it better when they were trying to kill you guys. That was much more entertaining. There was tension.”**

‘ _ Aw, Kurama. You don’t mean that do you?’ _

**“Of course I do. What am I supposed to do with your soft human emotions? Give me more fighting to enjoy.”**

**‘** _ Hahahaha!’  _

When Team seven was about to depart as well Inari sniffled to himself as they all said their goodbyes. 

“Thanks to you four-“ Akamaru barked furiously, “Ah, five haha, our bridge has finally been completed. It's going to be awfully dull around here when you leave though… 

“We’ve enjoyed your hospitality.” Kakashi said bowing slightly. 

“We’ll come by to visit some time in the future!” Kiba said lacing his fingers behind his head happily. 

Naruto smiled softly at the family and waved as they walked away. 

Sasuke grunted and turned his back on them without looking back. He was still thinking on Haku’s words. And the blossoming friendship between them. Haku had promised to find some way to keep in touch. 

“Kakashi-sensei… Do you think those two were right about Shinobi being emotionless tools?” Sasuke asked. 

Kakashi held his chin, “A Shinobi shouldn’t be concerned with a reason for their existence… It is merely important that we exist as a tool for homeland to use in whatever way they need. That's as true for us in Konoha as it is for ninja anywhere else.” Kakashi answered. 

“Do you really think that way Kakashi sensei?” 

“Well… No. Shinobi will always live with that ideal bubbling beneath the surface of our minds, disturbing us. Like it did with Zabuza and Haku.”

“Hey guys wanna get some ramen together when we get back?” Naruto asked. 

“Hn.”

“Sure why not?”

“Arf! Arf!”

“Hahah! You said it Akamaru!” 

“Sensei would you like to come as well?” 

“Maa… maybe after the mission report.” 

Inari watched with tears trailing down his face as the team walked away. He turned to his grandpa who patted him on the head. 

“Grandpa?” 

“That team has touched the hearts of all the people in the city. They’ve carried us all to hope and courage. And speaking of bridges we still need to name this one!” 

“How about the Team Seven bridge or the bridge of hope gramps?” 

“Hohhh, not bad Inari! Our bridge will become super famous as a symbol of hope and endurance! Or that's what I hope at least! Ahahah!”

Inari and his family slowly lost sight of the team as they walked off into the distance. 

  
  


“...That concludes my report, Hokage-sama.” Kakshi lowered the paper he was reading off of. 

The Hokage closed his mouth and awkwardly cleaned the spilled ash from his pipe off of his robes. He then refilled his pipe and took a puff, sighing heavily. This Wave business was giving him a headache even though it had brought many boons to Konoha. Konoha now had stable trading with the Land of Waves and a monopoly over the shipping business. This was all very fine and good but it meant mountains of paperwork for him. 

“Very good Kakashi, though you should have requested backup for this mission immediately. Next time I will not be so lenient. But to think that he has mastered both of the Fourth’s signature jutsus… Naruto is truly an incredible child…” 

“Yes. I would like to recommend my team to take the Chuunin exams soon as well.” 

“I see. Perhaps he will even make Chuunin on his first try.”

“Perhaps.” 

“Very well. Kakashi you are dismissed, let me think more on this. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hai.” 

Minato ate a simple breakfast of eggs and toast as he thought about what he would accomplish that day. He would have to add additional levels to his resistance seals to keep training. He would have to study one handed resistance seals. He would have to plan a trip to Uzushio. 

He chewed despondently and closed his eyes thoughtfully. There was so much to do… But not as much stuff to do as when he had been Hokage. Minato perked up again. Hiruzen that poor bastard. The paper work after the Wave mission must be awful. He wondered if the old Kage knew he could use shadow clones for paperwork… 

Sarutobi Hiruzen sneezed on his next trade deal agreement with the Daimyo of Wave. He suddenly had the unexplained urge to strangle someone. 

Either way Minato had to start the day soon. And if he was not mistaken, the Chuunin exams would be beginning soon. He wondered if Kakashi would recommend his team for it. They barely even had enough missions completed to participate in the first place. 

Minato shrugged to himself. He would see in the team meeting later he supposed. 

Kiba arrived last to their customary meeting point on the bridge and the trio of genin settled in on the bridge to wait for their Sensei. There was an awkward air around the team now that they had discovered that Kakashi had sent Naruto on a tentative assassination mission. Naruto was hard pressed to figure out if they were upset about being left out, or upset at not being deemed ready to kill just yet. He tried asking about it but both Kiba and Sasuke brushed him off. He sat in silence for a while thinking about why they would be mad. Finally Minato had an epiphany. 

“Are you two mad that Kakashi-sensei and I didn’t tell you about the decoy mission?” 

“Of course!” Pouted Kiba.

“What do you think, loser?” Sasuke shot at Naruto. 

“Ah I see. I apologize. I promise it won't happen again in the future.” 

“It better not. Weren’t we supposed to be a team?” Huffed Sasuke. 

“Yeah! I mean what’s with not trusting us? Huh?” Kiba said stamping his foot. 

“Sorry, sorry, guys I swear it won’t happen again.” 

They reluctantly forgave him but still maintained a pissy attitude that Minato could only deal with for a while. 

Surprisingly enough the Kakashi was only an hour late as opposed to his usual three hours. Though, Akamaru still scolded him for coming late with a bad excuse by barking furiously. 

Kiba pounced on Kakashi the moment he showed up, “Hey Kakashi-sensei! Any new missions for team seven? All we’ve been getting are crappy chores! Anything more exciting?” 

“Nahh… Not today… But who knows! Maybe we’ll get something different soon!” Kakashi eye smiled at Kiba who had instantly deflated. 

Team seven spent the rest of the day performing menial chores such as weeding, picking up litter, and walking pets. Minato had turned off his brain for the day and was working on mostly auto pilot due to the boring chores. He gossiped absently with Kurama over the village’s treatment of him recently. It seemed that the general consensus of him was a cold indifference now, as opposed to previously when people went out of their way to antagonize him. He still needed to wear a henge to buy things if he wanted anything at a fair price. 

By the end of the day the boys were thoroughly worn out from long dull chores. Minato was panting from the strain of increasing his resistance seals to level 11. The other boys were curious as to why Naruto seemed so tired by the end of the day but chalked it up to him overworking. 

Kakashi patted an exhausted Naruto on the head. “Mm… teamwork recently seems to have improved… Good job you three.” 

The genin smiled tiredly at their sensei when a hawk flew overhead screeching. Kakashi looked up curiously and then dismissed his genin with a lazy wave of his hand. “We’ll call it a day now. I've got to hand in my report on today’s missions.”

Sasuke quickly turned around, “I’m going home.” 

Kiba shouted after him as he left, “Hey wait! I was going to challenge you to a race! Hey wait up!” Kiba was forced to chase after Sasuke as he left the area. 

Kakashi vanished in a shunshin and soon Naruto was left all alone in the street. Naruto looked around for a bit before he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. He could take it slow today he supposed. 

He started walking down the street absently thinking of ways to discover the correct single hand signs for various jutsu he knew of. He detected three small presences following after him as he walked. One of the presences felt terribly familiar… 

He turned to see a rather realistic looking rock with eye holes cut into it following after him. 

“Konohamaru? You know rocks don’t have eye holes right?” 

“Haha! As expected of boss!” 

The rock exploded into three clouds of differently colored smoke. When the cloud of smoke cleared three children were coughing on the ground. 

“Ugh. Too much gunpowder.” Konohamaru said wiping his eyes. 

The children gathered themselves. Naruto didn’t recognize the young girl and boy tagging along with Konohamaru. The girl had bright orange hair tied in two large pigtails and faintly blushing cheeks. The boy seemed to have a perpetually dripping nose with large round glasses and a tired expression. All three children were wearing sleeveless hoodies of various colors over their own unique fashion styles. Minato smiled a bit. Awww…They were copying him.

“Aww are you guys copying me?”

“Yeah boss!” Konohamaru chirped he pointed at the girl “This Moegi” then he pointed at the shy looking boy “and Udon! You’re our idol right? We’re copying the style you used to wear!”

Minato ruffled Konohamaru’s hair slightly. “Aw. That's real flattering of you. So what did you need today Konohamaru?” 

“Can you play ninja with us?” Konohamaru implored

“Oh pretty please?” Asked Moegi 

“Come play…” Said Udon sniffing slightly. 

“Oh sure why not! I have nothing else to do anyways!” 

“What’s a ninja doing ‘playing ninja?’” A voice suddenly said. 

Naruto turned to find Sakura standing there with a condescending expression on her face. She had her hands on her hips and her style of dress had changed dramatically. She now wore a modest two piece light brown kimono set with a green obi and blue hitai-ate that held back her hair. 

“Oh Sakura-san, it's been awhile. How have you been?”

“I’ve been ‘great’ thanks. Where’s Sasuke?” 

“Hey boss who’s the girl!?” Konohamaru asked loudly 

“Ah she was a classmate of mine.” 

“Oh makes sense that she’s not your girlfriend. She’s too ugly and her forehead’s too big to be boss’s significant other.” 

Sakura cracked her knuckles. “Excuse me? What did you say you little twerp?” She had on a blankly smiling face but the aura leaking out of her was considerably intimidating. 

Konohamaru meeped and turned to run. 

“Come back here you little brat!” Sakura shouted chasing after the child immediately. 

The child turned a corner quickly and crashed into someone. Shouts of pain and anger came around the corner as Minato, Moegi, and Udon hurried to catch up to the duo. 

Naruto turned the corner to find Konohamaru being held up by the neck by an unknown Suna Shinobi. 

The unknown ninja was dressed in all black with purple face paint and a large bandage wrapped bundle on his back. He was with a blonde kunoichi who was dressed in a light purple battle dress with a large battle fan strapped to her back. 

“That hurt snotface!” The black dressed Shinobi said. 

“Knock it off, you're gonna get us in trouble.” The girl said. 

Sakura trembled a bit bringing her arms close to her body, “It was my fault, I was fooling around…” 

Naruto calmly stepped up, “Please put him down, that’s the Hokage’s grandson you’re manhandling.” 

The Shinobi scoffed, “This brat? Really? I don't believe it.” 

The girl spoke up, “Do you really want to test it, Kankuro?” 

“Aw Temari, I’m just having a bit of fun before the strict one gets here, that's all…” 

“Please put him down sir. His ANBU guards won’t be pleased with you. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to cause an incident.” 

“I won’t be held responsible for this.” Temari remarked stepping away from Kankuro. 

Kankuro dropped Konohamaru roughly. “Fine then. I’ll believe you for now.”

“What are you guys doing in our village?” A voice called out. Naruto looked up at a tree and spotted Sasuke bouncing a rock up and down in his hand. 

Sakura squealed. It was Sasuke! He was so cool!

Temari stepped up. “We’re here for the Chuunin exams.” 

Naruto suddenly detected a large chakra presence appear in the tree on the other side of Sasuke. This new presence feel like blood lust incarnate. He’d never felt anything quite like it before. Kurama stirred in his seal all of a sudden. 

**“Shukaku…”**

_ “Shukaku? The sand spirit? Is there another Jinchurriki here?’  _

**“Yes. That blasted Tanuki’s stench is all over that kid.”**

Suddenly a new voice entered the conversation. “Temari, Kankuro. What are you doing?” 

A red headed genin with a giant gourd strapped to his back spoke. 

The two Suna Shinobi began sweating as Sasuke started and stared intently at the redhead. 

‘N-nothing Gaara. We were just exploring, you know?” 

“Have you forgotten why we came here? We are not here for leisure.” 

“H-hai Gaara.” Kankuro stuttered. 

“We’re really sorry okay Gaara?” Temari said. 

Gaara turned to Naruto, “Sorry about them .”

He disappeared in a shunshin and reappeared between Temari and Kankuro. 

“I know we’re a little early… but we didn’t come here to play around. Let’s go.” 

Sasuke shunshined in front of Naruto’s group and spoke up, “You there. What’s your name?”

Gaara stared evenly back, “Sabaku no Gaara at your service.”

Sasuke smirked, “Uchiha Sasuke.” He replied. 

Naruto watched the interaction with some trepidation, what was Suna doing sending their Jinchuuriki to Konoha for the Chuunin exams for? This whole meeting reeked of the word ‘troublesome’. Additionally he had sensed three presences behind him up in a tree who had not revealed themselves yet. He shot the tree a wary look as he left with the children. 


	23. Assessment Days

“Now then… I’d like to hear from those who are overseeing the training of our newest Genin.” The Hokage said. 

The Jounin were gathered in a large meeting hall to discuss the upcoming Chuunin exams that were to be held in Konoha this year. 

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma stepped up to the front of the crowd of Jounin and Chuunin. 

“Jounins Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. Tell us, do any of you have, among your charges, any Genin you’d recommend for this year’s Chuunin exams?” The Sandaime placed his pipe in his mouth, “Though before we can even consider them, they must have completed a minimum of eight missions. Beyond that, employ your own judgement as to whether or not they are ready for the next level. To be truly competitive candidates, they should have probably completed at least double the required number of missions. Now, you may begin Kakashi.” The Hokage said, already knowing his answer. 

Kakashi held his right hand in a half ram seal and began, “Team seven, led by Kakashi, consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Inuzuka Kiba. I vow upon the honor of my clan, the Hatake. That all three of them are ready for the Chuunin exams.” 

In the audience of Jounin and Chuunin Iruka started. What? It was too early for any of the rookies! And Kakashi had just recommended his own team? 

Kurenai, a female jounin dressed in a decorative bandage dress with curly black hair and bright red eyes went next. “Team number eight, led by Kurenai, consists of Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, and Aburame Shino. I vow upon my own clan, the Yuhi, that I am as certain as my esteemed colleague. That all three are ready for the Chuunin exams.” 

Asuma, a man with short brown hair and a permanent cigarette in his mouth spoke, “Team number ten, led by Asuma, consists of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. I vow upon my clan, the Sarutobi, that I am equally as certain. That all three are ready for the Chuunin exams.” 

The Hokage hummed thoughtfully, “How unusual for all three of you to have assented.” 

“J-just a moment!” Iruka interrupted. 

“Yes Iruka?” Said the Hokage. 

“Hokage-sama, forgive me if I overstep. But most of those nine Genin just named were my students while they were at the academy. They are all certainly gifted and show both commitment and talent… But it is too soon for kids that young to become Chuunin! Only with more time and experience will they have the maturity that these exams require. I don’t understand why their Senseis don’t see that.”

“I was six years younger than Naruto when I became Chuunin, Iruka.” Kakashi said blandly with his hands in his pockets. 

“They aren’t like you!” Iruka shot back. “Do you want to destroy these children?” 

“Maa… Let’s admit that breaking them once would be fun now Iruka.” 

“Are you out of your mind!?” 

“It was just a joke, Iruka-sensei. I understand where you’re coming from. Sorry if my recommendation upsets you. But I stand by it.” 

“But…!”

“Kakashi, finish up already.” Kurenai snapped. 

“Frankly Iruka, its none of your business anymore. They aren’t your students, but my soldiers now.” Kakashi said in a bland tone. 

Iruka could only grit his teeth. He tried one more time with a different angle. “How about this? We have a preliminary test for the kids and if they fail you will withdraw your recommendations.” 

“Hmm… That is an interesting idea Iruka.” Said the Sandaime. “What would be this test of yours?”

“Well you see…” 

“Man… He’s making us wait again…” Kiba complained to Akamaru. Akamaru huffed at him and Kiba nodded in agreement. “Yeah totally.” 

“He’s been doing better lately, he’s only been an hour late instead of three…” Said Naruto. 

“Yo everyone.” Kakashi said appearing on top of the torii gate above the bridge. “Today I got lost.” 

“That's a lie!” Kiba shouted with a barking Akamaru. 

Kakashi hopped down from the gate as Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke lined up in front of him. 

“Uh well… This is rather sudden. But I’ve recommended you three for the Chuunin exam, so… Here.” Kakashi handed the three boys three sheets of paper. “Those are your applications.” 

“Chuunin exams huh? Sounds exciting! Am I right Akamaru?” Kiba said brightly. 

“That being said, the recommendations are not compulsory.” Kakashi continued. “You guys are free to decide if you want to take the exams or not. Only those that want to take the exam should come to room 301 of the Academy at 3:00 p.m. five days from now… Thats it!” Kakashi disappeared in a shunshin. 

“Heh. The Chuunin exams huh? Seems like there will be quite a lot of strong people this year, eh Sasuke?” Said Naruto.

“Hmph.”

  
  


The next few days Konoha saw an influx of various Shinobi from neighboring countries. People of all shapes came through the village in preparation for the exams. 

A day before the Chuunin exams, Naruto was walking along listening to Konohamaru chatter excitedly to his friends. He felt a familiar presence approaching them quickly. He turned happily to greet the approaching individual but was terribly confused when he saw an Ame nin dressed in a dark cloak approaching. 

Naruto squinted his eyes at the Ame nin ‘ _ A henge?’  _ He thought. “Iruka-sensei? What are you doing?” He asked curiously.

Konohamaru tugged on his jacket. “Huh? Iruka-sensei? What do you mean boss?” 

The man flinched and awkwardly snatched up Moegi, who began kicking at him harmlessly. 

“Hey! Let me go!”

The Ame nin laughed evilly and started running away with Moegi in his arms. They quickly made it into a forest and began tree hopping away. 

Naruto quickly caught up with barely any effort.  _ ‘What is Iruka-sensei doing? Is this a prank or a test of some sort?’  _

“Iruka-sensei! Is this a test?” Naruto yelled at the man. 

The man slumped suddenly and stopped running away, letting Moegi down from his arms onto the branch he was standing on. The Ame nin released the henge revealing a sheepish Iruka. Iruka rubbed the scar on his nose in an embarrassed manner as he laughed awkwardly, “Maa… naruto there’s no point to this if you know it's me and that its a test…” 

Naruto tilted his head, “Is this about the Chuunin exams?” 

Iruka could only sigh, “Yeah Naruto… You’re too smart. I should have expected this wouldn’t work on you.” He patted Naruto on the head. “I guess you’re ready to try the exams at least. I didn’t expect to be found out so quickly haha.” 

“Boss! You’re so fast!”

“W-wait up!” 

Konohamaru and Udon landed on the branch besides Naruto and looked at Iruka with questioning glances. 

“Iruka-sensei! What are you doing kidnapping Moegi?” Konohamaru yelled while Udon nodded beside him. 

“Ah heh. It was a test for Naruto but he kinda ruined it…” 

Konohamaru slipped Naruto on the shoulder. “As expected of the man I call boss!” 

Naruto smiled at Iruka, “So did I pass?” 

Iruka shook his head in exasperation and waved his hand. “Aah. Sure, sure. With flying colors, Naruto.” 

Naruto’s smile took on a hint of cheekiness. 

Iruka sighed, “Please don’t tell your teammates about this test Naruto. I have to see if they’re ready.” 

“Haha sure, Sensei.” 

“You know you don’t have to call me Sensei anymore right?”

Naruto just shrugged, “You’ll always be my Sensei, Sensei. I don’t forget what I’m taught.” Iruka was a genuine man. Who had tried his best for him and taken a kunai in his place. He was a man worthy of being called Sensei. 

Smiling softly Iruka said, “... Thanks Naruto.” 

  
  


“So! You fools ready for this?” Kiba asked. 

“Un.”

“Hn.”

“Bark.”

“Cool! Let’s do this then guys!” Kiba charged forward into the academy without a second thought. The academy was packed full of young Shinobi and it was difficult to move through the crowd. Naruto and his team moved as one until they reached a room with the number 301 outside it. 

Bam!

Two Genin standing outside the doors kicked back another young Genin dressed in a green jumpsuit. 

“Is someone as talentless as you really planning to take the Chuunin exams? Why bother?” One of the door genin said. 

“Bunch of wet-behind the ears snot noses!” His partner declared. 

“You said it!” 

“Please we’re begging you… Just let us in.” A girls with two hair buns and a Chinese styled shirt said. 

She received a harsh blow to the face from the genin standing on the left in response. 

The crowd murmured and whispered about the cruelty of the Genin’s actions. 

“What did you say?” He asked. “You misunderstand! We’re just trying to spare you. The Chuunin exam is incredibly difficult. And we should know. We’ve failed three times so far. There are people who make it, then immediately give up being Shinobi. Others who have been reduced to vegetables or crippled. We’ve seen it all! Besides that, Chuunin are team leaders. The responsibilities for failed missions and dead Shinobi rests squarely on their shoulders. You little punks have the nerve to apply?” The Genin released a weak amount of killing intent. “We’re saving a step by weeding out the obvious losers before hand.”

Naruto observed this all silently. He grabbed Sasuke’s arm as the boy stepped up.

“Don’t.” He whispered harshly, “This is the first test. If others can’t see that they don’t deserve to be Chuunin. Hide your abilities. Don’t show off now. There will be opportunity for that later.” 

Sasuke hesitated and then nodded at Naruto. He grabbed Kiba who was standing there with a confused expression and pulled him into the stairwell. 

“H-hey what gives Sasuke? That’s where we need to be!” Kiba asked. 

“Dobe. It's a genjutsu. Thats room 201 not 301. Those two Genin are proctors under a henge.” 

“Oh. I knew that.” 

Naruto chuckled and followed his team into the next room, but a voice yelled out from behind them. 

“Please wait!” It was the boy who was being beaten up just a minute ago. He was standing a level above them on the railings. Taking another look at the boy Minato had the thought that he looked remarkably like Might Guy with the bushy eyebrows and bowl cut hair. Minato shuddered at the thought of Guy having a child. 

“Are you Uchiha Sasuke, the rookie of the year?” The boy asked. 

Sasuke scowled at him, the title didn’t mean much to Sasuke anymore. “Hmph. So?” 

“You and me, here and now… Want to fight?” He said. 

Sasuke looked subtly confused, “You want to fight me… Here and now?” He asked. 

The boy jumped down from the railings and landed in front of team seven. 

“It is polite to introduce one self before asking another’s name. My name is Rock Lee” He introduced, “Uchiha Sasuke! I’m calling you out! I want to test the effectiveness of my techniques against the legendary might of the Uchiha.”

Kiba in the corner gained a tick mark. Why didn’t anyone want to challenge the Inuzuka? 

Sasuke tilted his head to the side and looked at Naruto he had a silent conversation with Naruto through their eyes. No one ever suspected Naruto was much stronger than he let on. This would be a good test to see what level their opponents were at. 

“So you’re challenging me even knowing my lineage? In other words. You’re a fool. So, bushy brows. Do you really want to learn what it means to be an Uchiha?”

“Absolutely!”

Kiba scowled. “Tch. Get this over quickly Sasuke. We have to go register.” 

“Just so you know… I am the greatest fighter among the junior Genin in Konoha!” Lee declared taking a fighting stance. 

Minato recognized the Goken style stance instantly. So Guy had taken on a student huh? This would be an interesting match. 

“This will only take five minutes, Kiba. I accept your challenge.” Sasuke then charged forward, pumping chakra into his legs to boost his speed. Lee ducked and swung around remarkably quickly, he aimed a high kick towards Sasuke’s face. Sasuke saw the kick coming and made to block. Minato saw that Lee’s made it under Sasuke’s guard before he could fully block with pure speed alone. 

‘ _ Hmm… he might be as fast as me at level 7 resistance seals.’  _ Minato thought. 

Sasuke recovered and activated his Sharingan for the first time in a fight since Haku. 

Minato hummed at seeing the Sharingan while Kiba grunted.

“Bushy brows is done for now, the bastard has a Sharingan.” Kiba said. 

Lee disappeared in a burst of speed. Reappearing beneath Sasuke and kicking him high up into the air. 

“What?” Kiba exclaimed. 

“I use neither genjutsu or ninjutsu.” Lee said once again disappearing. He leaped up to Sasuke in the air, aligning his body so that it was parallel to Sasuke’s 

Shadow of the dancing leaf! Minato readied himself to stop the fight, he didn’t want Sasuke horribly injured before the exams after all. 

“That's right. No ninjutsu. No trickery. My moves are strictly taijutsu. If your Sharingan eye can see to the heart of every ninja art well enough to duplicate it. As it is said to. Then you know what I say is true. Your Sharingan is invaluable against ninjutsu and genjutsu. But taijutsu is a very different story. Even if you can understand my movements, you lack the speed and strength to counter them. It doesn’t matter what your eyes can see if your body’s too weak to act!” Lee said to Sasuke as they fell through the air. 

Lee loosened the bandages he had wrapped around his fists. 

“There’s two kinds of strength you know? The kind you are born with, and the kind you get from back breaking work. Your Sharingan runs through your family, but what I have I got through blood, sweat, and tears! In other words we are complete opposites! Let me prove to you that my physical prowess exceeds your genius completely

Suddenly a pinwheel came flying out of nowhere pinning Lee’s bandages to the wall. A bright red tortoise appeared yelling, “That's enough, Lee!” 

The bandages yanked Lee out of his move. Lee halted his movements and tucked himself into a ball, rolling and landing on his feet. 

Minato dashed forward and caught Sasuke as he was falling. Sasuke was so out of it he couldn’t land properly. 

“Y-you saw?” Lee asked the tortoise hesitantly. 

“You know the rules, Lee. That move is forbidden!” The tortoise yelled angrily. 

“P-please forgive me.. I was only…” 

The tortoise glared sharply making Lee flinch back. 

“I.. I wouldn’t have used the reversal move… I never meant…” Lee stuttered out. 

Kiba walked up to Naruto and nudged Naruto in the side, “Is that turtle bushy brow’s teacher?” He whispered. 

“Ah no, its his teacher’s summon.” 

“Oh. Okay.” 

“You fool!” The tortoise continued scolding Lee. “Do you think I care about your weak excuses? Consider the consequences of revealing your abilities!” 

“Y-yes sir!” 

Sasuke scowled and dusted himself off, nodding at Naruto for catching him. 

“I hope you are prepared?” The tortoise asked sternly.

“Yes sir…” 

“Well then he’s all yours Guy-sensei”

Then there was an explosion of smoke from the back of the tortoise. A man with a bowl cut, extremely bushy eyebrows, a green jumpsuit, and jounin vest appeared from the smoke in a strange pose. The man’s right arm was outstretched to the sky while his left arm curled around his face and his hand circled his left eye. 

“Ah the exuberance of youth. All of you are full of it!” He yelled.

Ah. Well. Guy had grown up interestingly. The man hasn't changed all that much though, Minato thought. 

Kiba yelled in horror, “This guy has the biggest eyebrows I’ve ever seen! And what’s with that same dorky look? Holy cow!”

Lee turned around angrily, “Don’t make fun of Guy-sensei!” 

“Oh shut up!” Kiba yelled back, “I don't know how to feel with all you freaks!” 

“What-!”

“Lee!” Guy yelled. 

“Oh! Yes sir?” 

Guy nailed Lee in the face with a massive punch sending Lee flying. “Idiot!” Guy yelled. “You…”

“Guy-sensei…” 

Student and teacher both began shedding manly tears.

“Lee!”

“Guy-sensei!”

“That’s enough Lee! Not one more word!” Guy yelled hugging Lee fiercely.

“Guy-sensei!” Lee cried. 

Waves crashed from nowhere and a bright setting sun appeared. Kiba and Sasuke gaped with befuddled expressions while Naruto looked to the side and studiously ignored the hugging duo. 

“I understand it's because you’re young!”

“Guy-sensei!”

Guy patted Lee on the shoulder firmly. “It’s alright, Lee! Mistakes and youth go hand in hand.”

Lee sobbed, “You are too kind Guy-sensei.” 

“Lee, for your attempt to break the rule your penalty will be five hundred laps around the training grounds after the Chuunin exams!” 

“I understand!” 

Team seven collectively sweat dropped at the manly display. 

Guy noticed that he had spectators and inspected team seven closely. Kiba shivered at coming under the man’s scrutiny, Sasuke scowled, and Naruto sighed. 

“By the way, how is Kakashi doing? I’m asking you!” Guy said towards team seven. 

“Ah, he’s doing fine Guy-sensei, he’s the same as usual.” Naruto answered. 

“You know Kakashi-sensei?” Sasuke asked. 

“Do I know him? Hehe.” Guy laughed to himself. 

Sasuke made a questioning sound. 

Guy vanished without a trace. He reappeared behind team seven. Minato smiled warmly, Guy had really improved! Kiba and Sasuke were shocked. What was that inhuman speed just now? 

“The score stands at 50-49. I’m stronger than he is!” Guy gave the group a big thumbs up and smiled brightly, light flashed off his teeth. 

Minato laughed internally. So Kakashi had taken Guy up on his challenges? This was too good. And nearly one hundred challenges as well! 

“As you can see, Guy-sensei is totally amazing!” Lee said happily, clenching his fists. 

“I know Lee started this fight, but take pity on his old teacher. For the sake of my own self respect please forgive him.” Guy said with another thumbs up. He then sharply threw a kunai, dislodging the pinwheel that stuck Lee’s bandages to the wall. 

Minato and Kiba both took notice of the scars and calluses on Lee’s hand as he rewrapped his bandages. 

“Best of luck, Lee! Later!” Guy disappeared in a shunshin. 

“Yes sir!” Lee called out to his departing teacher. “By the way Sasuke. I was lying before. I’m really here to prove my strength. I dont think I’m the strongest Konoha Genin. The strongest Genin is on my team and I intend to take him down. That's why I’m entering… And by the way you’re on my list too.” Lee leapt away to apply for the exams. 

Sasuke clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He had just been defeated by a clown. He looked at Naruto who stared evenly back at him. 

“Hmph. Maybe the Uchiha aren’t so special after all huh?” Asked Kiba. 

“Shut up Kiba. I'll get him next time.” 

“Yeah right. I mean, did you see that guy’s hands? He probably does some insane training to get scars like those.” 

Sasuke grunted. “Things are starting to get interesting, this Chuunin exam is getting me excited! Naruto? Kiba? Let’s go!” 

Naruto shoulder bumped Sasuke and Kiba grinned baring his teeth, “”Yeah!””


	24. Exam Days

When Team seven arrived at the real room 301 they found Kakashi waiting for them outside the room. 

“Hey Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?” Kiba asked. 

“Maa… well I’m here to make sure that all three of you showed up after all. The way the test is set up, it can only be taken by three-man cells.” 

“But you said it was up to each of us to decide to apply or not.” Sasuke said. 

“Ah. That was a lie. It was to make sure you were all individually confident enough to take this challenge. But you're all here because you want to be. I’m very proud of the three of you boys.” Kakashi gave each of them pat on the head, “Now get in there!” He said. 

“Hell yeah! Look out Chuunin exams here we come!” Yelled Kiba kicking open the door to the room. 

On the other side of the door they were met by a blast of low level killing intent. For a team that had faced down a bloodthirsty Zabuza, it was nothing. But it did serve to put them on edge. 

The room was filled to the brim with ninja of all shapes and colors. There were ninja from a variety of villages, though Konoha was most prevalent as expected. Minato noted that Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri applicants were notably absent from the village lineups. Many of the genin were also several years older than them.

The room was quiet with a few murmurs here and there. So when Kiba kicked the door open all eyes were on them. Naruto subtly facepalmed as Kiba basked in the attention.

All of a sudden Sasuke was tackled by a purple blur. 

“Sasuke-kun! Where’ve you been cutie?” Ino squealed. “Oh Sasuke! I could hardly wait! Its so exciting seeing you again after all this time!”

“Ino pig! Get off of Sasuke-kun!!” Sakura screeched as she stormed over. 

Ino snickered, “Oh? Jealous are we? I’m going to make Sasuke mine first!” 

“Ino get off of him!” Sakura yelled latching onto Sasuke’s other arm. 

Hinata timidly came up to stand next to Naruto. “S-Sakura-san. I-I think Sasuke is…” 

“Hinata speak up!” Sakura commanded. 

“H-hai! I think S-Sasuke looks uncomfortable…” 

“Ehh….” 

Taking the opportunity Sasuke quickly shook himself out of Ino and Sakura’s grip while Naruto snickered at him. 

“Huh. Looks like all the rookies are here this year.” Shikamaru said as he wandered up to Naruto, Choji followed him munching on chips. 

“Ah. How are you doing Shikamaru?” Naruto asked. 

“Maa… this is so troublesome…” 

Shino silently wandered over to Naruto and showed him a beetle. 

“Oh cool, Shino! You finally found the insect you were looking for, huh? Congratulations!” 

“N-Naruto you’re so popular…” Hinata squeaked out. 

“Man. Would you guys do us all a favor and shut up?” A Konoha Genin wandered over to the rookie gang and pushed up his glasses. He was dressed in dark purple clothes with a white belt and fingerless gloves. Minato instantly disliked him because of the way he hid his emotions. He had no positive intent towards the young Genin and Minato was on guard. 

“You three gangs are the hotshot rookies right? Kids barely out of the academy. Wet-behind the ears snot nosed brats! This isn't a school field trip you know?”

Sasuke bristled, “Who do you think you are?” 

“Me? I’m Kabuto. You kids need to open your eyes.” He pointed behind him to a menacing looking group of Ame nin who were glaring evilly at the Genin. “Watch out for that group from Ame. They’ve got short tempers. Everyone’s on edge here. I wanted to give you guys a chance before someone snaps and beats you up. It’s probably unavoidable. Like all rookies you think you know everything. I remember what it was like.” 

Sakura tilted her head, “Kabuto? Does this mean this is your second time?” 

Kabuto shook his head, “Not second… Seventh. Twice a year for hm… Four years now.” 

Sakura cozied up to Kabuto quickly, “Wow! Then you must have a lot of experience with what we can expect!” 

“I guess so. Well the least I can do is give you babies some vital intel on what you’re in for.” Kabuto displayed a hand of home made cards, “With these Shinobi cards.”

“Shinobi cards?” Sakura asked. 

Minato turned away from Kabuto as he explained the Shinobi cards, he settled for inspecting his competition. Truthfully, this would be his first time taking the Chuunin exams as well. He had been promoted in the field during the war and hadn’t had the opportunity to take the exams. He had proctored an exam during peacetime so he knew roughly what to expect but it wouldn’t change that he was inexperienced with the exams. 

The teams from Sound he was wary of. They had the same symbol on their headbands as the ninja that had attempted to kidnap Sasuke a year ago. If he remembered correctly, Sound had relations with Orochimaru. Why would they send their Genin to Konoha then? Minato also kept an eye out for the Suna team they had met on the street, their Jinchurriki gave him a bad feeling. 

Minato turned back to Kabuto’s explanation when he began discussing the dossiers of individual Genin. Sasuke requested information on Gaara and Rock Lee. 

“Alright, first up is Rock Lee. He’s a year older than you guys. Missions to date: 20 D-ranked, 11 C-ranked. His team’s mentor is Might Guy. His taijutsu and physical skills have grown exponentially this past year. He has no other talents worth mentioning. He was considered a standout among last year’s Genin but he didn’t apply for the Chuunin exams. He’s a first timer like you three. His teammates are Hyuga Neji and Tenten.” Kabuto flipped to the next card he held “Next is Gaara from Suna. Eight C-ranks and wow, one B-rank. Not many rookies get B-ranks! Since he’s out in the desert i have less info on him but I hear he’s come back from every mission without a single scratch.”

Minato narrowed his eyes at Kabuto. Mission information was usually classified information, how did a Genin get a hold of such information? Not to mention the mission information about a competitor from Suna. Kabuto was most likely a spy but what was his purpose in revealing his information like this?

“Do you have a card on yourself, Kabuto-san?” Naruto asked innocently. 

“Ahh, unfortunately I forgot myself when I was making these cards and I don’t really remember much of my record haha.” 

“But you could tell us what you specialize in right?”

“Ahh. I specialize in taijutsu and information gathering as you can see. But honestly, this year we have some outstanding Genin competing! Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, and Otto have all sent their best. Though to be honest I don't know much about Sound, it's a rather new and small nation.” 

“So everyone here is...?” Sakura began. 

Hinata trembled a bit and asked “A-anyone besides me suddenly feeling out classed?” 

“Oh yeah, everyone here is a bit like Lee and Gaara. Hand picked elite Genin. The best of the best. They have to be! The test is merciless.” Kabuto said. 

Sasuke shook in excitement, Kiba bared his teeth in anticipation, and Naruto did his best to fade into the background. Wouldn’t do to give too much information away on himself just yet. 

Kakashi stood outside room 301 thinking of the scolding that Guy had given him. Guy might be right in letting his own children build up experience but Kakashi believed it was better to witness the exam first hand to gather experience instead. He had the utmost confidence in his team. They had survived Zabuza and Haku after all. 

He also had the ultimate dark horse on his team. Naruto was just so plain no one ever expected him to be outstandingly strong. In fact Kakashi had often underestimated the boy himself. That had been quickly rectified after a few high speed spars. But Naruto never appeared to be more than a slightly above average ninja. 

Kakashi wondered if Naruto would use his Hiraishin in the exams. It would instantly put a target on his head if he did. Well Kakashi would be ready if Iwa or Kumo came knocking. 

Suddenly a trio of three genin with music notes on their hitai-ate burst out of the crowd. They lunged at Kabuto. One of them leapt into the air and threw a trio of kunai at Kabuto which he deftly dodged. Another one with a fur cape swung a punch at Kabuto.

Kabuto dodged the punch quickly. But despite having dodged his glasses shattered from the attack. Kabuto took off his glasses but then fell to his knees and vomited. Alerting the rest of the Genin in the room. 

The three sound Shinobi stood there menacingly, one had dark black hair and a shirt that read ‘death’, another was covered in bandages with a fur cape, and the third was a girl who had long dark hair and black and white camouflage. 

Sakura rushed over to Kabuto worriedly asking, “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah I’m fine…” Kabuto said retching. 

“You’re a pushover, aren't you? Pretty sad for someone who’s been an applicant for years now.” Mocked the one in bandages. 

“Better add this to your cards. The three applicants from Sound will all make Chuunin!”

An explosion went off at the front of the room. Sending up a cloud of smoke. 

“Would everybody please just shut up?!” A gruff voice yelled harshly. 

The smoke cleared revealing an intimidating man with two diagonal scars on his face in a leather trench coat, flanked on both sides with various Konoha Chuunin in neat grey uniforms. 

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki. I’m the proctor and chief examiner for the first part of the exam.” The man in the trench coat said. 

He pointed accusingly, “You…The kids from Sound! You can’t just act in any way you please when the exam’s about to start. Or do you want to be disqualified?” He threatened. 

The Genin with the fur cape apologized, “Sorry sir… it’s our first exam and we got a little carried away.” 

“Is that so?” Ibiki asked, “Then it’s high time someone laid down a few ground rules. From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer. And even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant’s life is strictly forbidden. Any of you little piglets woh break that rule are out. Disqualified. No second chance. Got that?” 

The room was silent except for the sounds of shifting and breathing, no one dared make a sound. 

“Good. Now the first portion of the exam is about to begin. Turn in your applications and take one of these seating cards.” Ibiki held up a small card with the number one on it. “And report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone is seated we’ll pass out the written part of the test.”

The Genin shuffled around, forming a messy line for their seat numbers and eventually Minato received seat number 53. He noted that he was sitting next to Hinata, who gave him a shy smile and a hesitant wave. 

“L-let's do our best!” She said. 

Minato gave her a confident nod and smiled back. 

Ibiki then began to explain the first portion of the test. Minato sat and listened quietly, casually tapping his fingers against the table. 

Rule number one: since each question on the test was worth a point and there were ten questions. Each question that was answered wrong lost the examinees a point. 

Rule number two: was that the test was still a team event and the objective of the test was to have as few deductions from their total of 30 points as possible. 

Rule number three: involved catching any cheating attempts. Anyone caught would automatically lose two points from every member of their team. 

Rule number four: if any individual lost all ten of their points, their entire team would be disqualified. 

“You have one hour. Starting… Now!” Ibiki barked. 

There was a rustle of flipping papers and the exam had begun. 

Minato read through each of the questions carefully with a wry smile. None of these questions were possible for the average Genin. They were simply too difficult or required experience that Genin didn’t have. Minato chuckled under his breath as he considered the rules. It was a test designed to have people cheat.

Minato amused himself by considering swapping tests with another examinee as one act of cheating. He also considered leaving the test blank, thus losing no points for his team. He shook his head and simply buckled down to answer the questions. None of them were too difficult for the former Hokage to solve, in fact they were almost too easy for him. 

He knew that both of his team mates had their own unique ways of cheating. From the quiet barking he could hear behind him, Minato assumed Kiba had started already. Sasuke would also have no problems with copying the movements of someone else. Minato could have cheated quite easily by creating shadow clones and hengeing them into small animals to gather answers. But if he were capable of answering the questions on his own, why would he bother? 

Minato stoically kept his head down and answered the questions one after another as various teams were disqualified for cheating. He drew a subtle genjutsu seal on his test to make it appear blank so that no one would cheat off of him.

Minato occupied the rest of his time waiting for Ibiki to give question number ten by observing the cheating methods of the other genin. He was impressed by the contraption of kunai, wire, and mirrors that someone had set up in the ceiling. He also noted that one of the proctors sitting at the side didn’t exactly have a human presence, so someone had snuck something in as a proctor huh? 

A kunai whizzed past him slamming into the test of the person sitting behind him. He ignored the look Ibiki was smugly sending him, Ibiki assumed that his test was still blank. Minato sent a sly smile back, thoroughly disturbing Ibiki with the sense of familiarity that smile brought him. 

“N-Naruto-kun…” Hinata whispered.

“Huh?” Minato turned to Hinata with a confused look. 

“Y-you can cheat off of me if you need to…” 

Naruto looked at her in confusion before he looked down at his blank test again. Ah… He erased the genjutsu seal in the corner and revealed his neatly written answers. 

“O-oh. S-sorry, Naruto-kun.”

“No problem Hinata, thanks for offering though!” Naruto whispered back, redrawing the seal. 

Another twenty minutes later, Kankuro stood and asked to go to the bathroom and left with the inhuman proctor. It was only after 15 teams had failed, that Ibiki finally opened his mouth and said,

“Get ready for the tenth question.” Ibiki tucked his hands into his pockets, “Before we get to the tenth question, I’m adding one more rule.” 

He was interrupted by the return of Kankuro and the strange proctor

Ibiki chuckled, “The time you’ve spent playing with dolls hasn’t been completely wasted. Sit down. Now, let me explain. This rule is absolute. First you must choose… Whether to accept or reject this tenth question.” 

“Ch-Choose? What happens if you don’t accept?” Temari burst out. 

“If you reject the question you will lose all of your points immediately. And fail! Both of your teammates will fail alongside with you as well.”

“Say what?!” 

“Then why would anyone reject it?”

Ibiki exerted a light amount of killing intent on the room, cowing the Genin. “Because of this next rule. If you try to answer this question. And you get it wrong. You will never be permitted to apply for the Chuunin exams again.” 

Minato snorted. That wasn’t possible, Ibiki had no power to prevent a Genin from taking the exam in another village. 

A flurry of complaints and protests rang out around the room, Kiba chief among them. 

“You can’t be serious! That's ridiculous! There are ninja who’ve sat here for exams more than once already!” He yelled. 

Ibiki laughed ominously, “It’s just your luck that I wasn’t making the rules the previous years.You can always take a failing grade and try again later. Anyone with doubts would be smart to reject this tenth question. Come back next year, and the year after that. Ready? Then let's begin. Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once your number has been confirmed. Leave the room.” 

Minato smirked. He would take this head on. He could already tell what sort of answer Ibiki would give after he had thrown out the rejects. He was also confident that neither of his teammates would give up at this stage. Even if Kiba was dumb he wouldn’t give up because his pride wouldn’t let him. 

One after another applicants chickened out and left. The boy sitting next to Naruto got up and left in disgrace as well. Naruto leaned back, crossed his arms and stared at Ibiki calmly. The number of applicants in the room dropped lower and lower. Finally, when it seemed like the trickle of leavers had stopped Ibiki spoke once more. 

“I’ll ask one last time. This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now while you still have the chance.”

No one budged, though a few Genin shifted uncomfortably under Ibiki’s harsh stares. A few of the proctors nodded at Ibiki as he exchanged glances with them. 

“Hmm… Good call. So everyone who is still here… You’ve just passed the first exam! So all sixty six of you who are still here… You’ve just passed.” Ibiki said to the worried Genin. 

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed his words. 

“Wait! What do you mean ‘passed’? When did that happen? What about the tenth question?!” Sakura asked. 

Ibiki smiled, letting up on his intimidating demeanor. “There is no tenth question… Beyond the whole ‘accept or reject’ thing.” 

Minato chuckled as Ibiki explained the purpose of the test. He had guessed the true purpose well before Ibiki had even said anything. Hearing it explained was validating though. 

“Of course anyone who cheated in a clumsy or obvious way… Failed.” Ibiki removed the bandanna tied around his head, revealing a gruesome set of scars to the Genin. There were burn marks and screw indents in his head As well as a variety of slashes. “There may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost more than just your life.” He continued. “You pay in ways that can be taken from you little by little, time and time again, when many lives hang in the balance.” Ibiki paused to retie his bandanna and then resumed his lecture. 

“But what was the deal with the tenth question?” Temari asked when Ibiki had finished talking. 

“Ah! The tenth question was the first real test on this exam.”

Minato zoned out of Ibiki’s explanation in favor of considering what the next task could be. Most likely a survival exercise he decided. There were still too many participants for the final round which was traditionally a tournament. 

He jerked out of his musings when he felt a presence approaching the classroom window at a high velocity. A tightly rolled up ball of black cloth crashed through the window and two kunai flew out embedding themselves in the ceiling. 

A woman stood up in front of a hastily made banner that read “Newly arrived second proctor Mitarashi Anko!” 

Minato blushed at he looked at what the purple haired woman was wearing. Or more accurately, not. The woman was dressed in a mesh bodysuit and orange skirt. She had on a long trench coat but no shirt. Her hair was tied in a ponytail that spiked upwards and she had a snake tooth necklace. 

“None of you are in any position to celebrate.” She declared loudly. “I am the second Proctor of the Chunin exams… Mitarashi Anko! Times wasting! Let’s go people!” 

Ibiki peeked out from behind the homemade banner and asked “Can’t you read the mood in here?” 

Anko blushed angrily before she waved him off and asked, “Ibiki! You passed twenty two teams? You’ve obviously gone too easy on them!” 

“Well this year we have some rather outstanding applicants.” 

“Hmph, we’ll see. I'll cut the number in half by the time I’m done! Get the next exam location and time from your Jounin Senseis! We’ll be meeting up tomorrow for the next part of the exams!” 

The sun was setting as Ibiki walked around the room collecting tests. He reached Naruto’s test and hummed. What he had thought was a blank test was actually a test with a minor genjutsu seal on it. How interesting. He erased the seal to find nine perfectly written answers and an arrow pointing to the back of the sheet. He turned the sheet over to find a message. ‘ _ Kabuto is a spy!’  _ He read. His eyes widened and he called several ANBU over immediately. 


	25. Forest Days

The next morning twenty two genin teams assembled outside of the forest of death for the second part of the Chuunin exams. The forest was filled with giant trees that loomed over the Genin, it was dark and foreboding. There was a small hut outside the fence that surrounded the forest with a few bored proctors sitting in it. 

The forest seemed particularly lively that day, various ominous sounds were emanating from within it. Minato stared at the forest impassively, he practically knew the forest like the back of his hand as a result of often training in the forest. 

“Heh. You’re about to find out first hand why they call this the ‘forest of death’!” Anko declared haughtily to the assembled Genin. 

Kiba snorted skeptically, it was a forest, what was the big deal? They practiced in dangerous forests all the time with Kakashi sensei. They had been trained to be a hunter team and surviving in the wilderness was their specialty. 

Anko smiled gently, “Seems we have a big shot here,” She said hearing Kiba’s snort. She whipped out a kunai and threw it, just grazing Kiba’s cheek making him freeze. She appeared behind him, caressing and licking at the wound she caused, “Your kind are always the first to go. Spilling all that rich, red, lovely luscious blood…”

Anko suddenly whipped around with another kunai in her hand. A Genin from Kusa leaned over her with her thrown kunai held in a long tongue. 

“Your kunai knife… I believe you dropped it.” The Genin said in a raspy voice. 

“Gee… Thanks.” Anko glared at the Kusa nin. “Don’t just stand behind me radiating bloodlust. Unless you’re in a hurry to die.” 

“I’ll try to keep it under control… but the sight of warm fresh blood really makes me crazy. And I was already wound up from losing a strand of my precious hair.” The genin replied lowering their head and allowing their straw hat hide their face. 

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. The Kusa team felt different from yesterday, as if they had been replaced by different people. They were also heavily suppressing their chakra and reeked of hostile intentions. 

He signaled to Anko using ANBU code explaining his suspicions. She narrowed her eyes at him and blinked in response. Naruto sighed, he didn’t know if that would accomplish anything. 

“Hm… Seems we have a hot blooded team on our hands… Heh. Should be fun.” She let go of a shivering Kiba and yelled out, “Before we begin the second exam there’s something I have to hand out!” Anko pulled out a stack of consent forms. “These are consent forms,” she said. “We want all the details taken care of before the first deaths occur. Sign before you go in so we can’t be held liable. You wouldn’t want me to get in trouble would you?” She started to hand the forms out, “ill explain what the second exam is about and then you kiddies can sign the forms and turn em in with your teammates at the hut behind you. Now about the exam. It's a survival test.” 

‘ _ Ah I guessed right.’  _ Minato thought as Anko began explaining the topography of the forest and the objective of the exam. 

There would be eleven teams with a heaven scroll and eleven teams with an earth scroll. Since a team needed both a heaven and an earth scroll to pass it meant that half the teams would fail. A team would be disqualified if they didn’t reach the tower in the center of the forest in time or lost a member. Taking a peek at the scroll’s contents was forbidden until they were in the tower. They also weren’t allowed to leave the forest during the five days that was the exam’s time limit. 

“One final piece of advice… Stay alive!” Anko said before she dismissed them to sign their consent forms. 

Naruto’s team was assigned to gate 12 to enter the forest and they received a heaven scroll after turning in their consent forms. 

“Part two of the Chuunin exam begins now!!” Anko called at exactly 3:30. 

The gates to the forest opened and all teams rushed inwards. 

Naruto signaled to his team to wait for a bit after they had traveled into the forest for some distance. 

“Okay everyone, discussion time. We have to plan out how we want to do this.” he said.

Kiba tucked his hands into his pockets, “The tower is ultimately where everyone is going. So we might as well set traps as close to there as possible.” 

Akamaru twitched his nose and sniffed carefully, alerting Kiba. Kiba sniffed the air, signing to Naruto who nodded in confirmation at him. The team had a silent conversation in signs. 

Suddenly Kiba scratched the side of his head and sheepishly said, “Guys i gotta go take a leak…” 

Naruto sighed, “Seriously Kiba? Why didn’t you go before hand? Hurry up man.” 

“Yeah, yeah just a second.” Kiba disappeared into a set of bushes to do his business. After a couple of minutes he reappeared rubbing the back of his head. 

“Oh man that's a relief! Let’s get going now!” 

Team seven nodded to each other and set off into the forest in the direction of the tower. The team didn’t encounter any other teams along the way to the tower. They fought off a few wild animals along the way. Kiba stuck to throwing kunai while Sasuke made liberal use of his fire jutsus. Naruto on the other hand stuck to taijutsu. 

They stopped halfway to the tower when it started to get dark to set up camp for the night. After a quick Rock Paper Scissors game, Sasuke disappeared into the forest to go hunting for food leaving behind Kiba and Naruto. 

Kiba waited until Sasuke was out of sight before pouncing on an unsuspecting Naruto. He quickly overpowered Naruto and tied him up. 

“Which one of you has the scroll!? Tell me!” Kiba harshly yelled in Naruto’s face as he sat on top of him. 

“Kiba! What are you doing?” Naruto asked. ”What do you mean which one of us has the scroll?” 

Kiba snarled in his face, “Never mind! I'll just search you!” 

Kiba quickly rifled through Naruto’s pouches, ignoring shouts of confusion from Naruto. He found nothing and angrily growled. Suddenly the Naruto he was sitting on laughed. 

Kiba punched him angrily, “What are you laughing at?” He demanded. 

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and poofed into a cloud of smoke, leaving a confused Kiba sitting on top of a pile of rope. 

Kiba leapt away from the pile of rope and into the claws of the real Kiba. 

“Thought you got me real good huh? Newsflash asshole, that was an earth clone!” Kiba crowed. 

The fake Kiba released his henge and threw a flurry of short knives at Kiba. Kiba easily dodged the salvo and returned fire. The now revealed Ame nin in a pale yellow jumpsuit and respirator leapt backwards. He prepared a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and was about to throw it at Kiba.

He was suddenly hit in the back of the head by a harsh blow, knocking him out cold. 

“Hmph, took you long enough!” Growled Kiba. 

“Ah sorry I wanted to see if he had anything else up his sleeve and then I didn’t want to risk it.” Naruto replied jumping down and inspecting the downed Ame nin. 

Sasuke dropped down into the clearing with a line of fish. “Oh so he finally acted, took him long enough.” 

“I know right? I was dying of boredom.” Said Kiba. 

“Where do you think his teammates are? He probably doesn’t have the scroll after all.” Sasuke asked.

“Well we are trackers for a reason Sasuke.” 

“Well. Get tracking then!”

“Maa… There’s no need for that, they were following us from a distance. They’ll be here shortly. Said Naruto. 

Kiba clapped his hands together, “Oh. Okay cool. Ambush?”

He got two nods in return. Team seven hid themselves and disappeared from the clearing. 

Soon two Ame nin landed in the clearing. They tsked at seeing their tied up comrade and made to release him. Foolishly not checking for traps. All three screamed as they were hauled into the air by a large net. 

Kiba appeared in the clearing with a disappointed pout. “Aw man that was too easy… who doesn’t even check for traps in this day and age?” 

“You’re right. That was too easy.” One of the Genin in the net said. Suddenly Kiba was surrounded by enemy clones. “Surrender your scroll to us and we may not kill you.” The Genin said disappearing from the net. 

Kiba gasped and backed up against a tree, hesitantly pulling out a kunai. The clones advanced on Kiba slowly, Kiba slashed through a clone but it simply reformed after he passed through it.

“What!?” Kiba shouted. He tried again with another clone only to have the same result. 

A clone threw a kunai which nicked Kiba in the arm revealing that not all of the attacks were illusory. 

Akamaru barked from atop Kiba’s head. 

“I know already!” Kiba responded in frustration. 

Just as things were looking dicey for Kiba. Naruto jumped down into the clearing landing on top of one of the many duplicate Ame nin, knocking him out. The clones slowly faded back into nothingness.

“Damn it Kiba, what have we told you about jumping the gun?” Sasuke asked dropping down to the forest floor as well. 

“Heh. Sorry. But it's alright Naruto got him!” 

“Yes but what if I’m not here next time? Think. Kiba.” Naruto scolded. 

Naruto searched the Genin he had just jumped on top of and found an earth scroll. 

“Perfect. Now we just have to get to the tower.” Sasuke said as he looked over Naruto’s shoulder. 

“Hmm… I think I’ll make a few decoy scrolls just in case…” Naruto said as he packed away the scrolls they now had. “Give me a moment.” 

“Good idea.” Said Sasuke. 

The team waited a bit as Naruto drew up two heaven scrolls and two earth scrolls. He handed both Sasuke and Kiba a pair and kept the real scrolls himself. 

“Hey you guys wanna pick off a few more teams before we leave this forest?” Kiba asked excitedly. “If we get some extra scrolls from a few teams we can lower the competition of the next stage yeah?” 

“It's a good idea Kiba, but we don’t need to risk ourselves unnecessarily like that. It's better to just pass right now. We can make it to the tower by nightfall at this pace.” Said Naruto. 

Sasuke hummed, “I think Kiba’s right. For once. We should try to eliminate as much competition in this stage as we can.” 

Seeing that he was outvoted Naruto shrugged. “Okay then guys. How do we want to do this?” 

“I don't think we should split up because look what happened to this team” Sasuke gestured to the Ame team in the net. “How many teams can you sense nearby Naruto?” 

Naruto crouched and put two fingers to the earth and focused his senses. He closed his eyes and stilled his breathing and stretched his awareness out to the rest of the forest.

His eyes snapped wide open. “Sasuke! Kiba! Run!” He yelled.

A blast of wind shot from the depths of the forest at them, blowing the team away in separate directions. 

Naruto gasped. That had been a high level wind jutsu. Far above anything that the average Genin could perform. He had sensed two jounin and one Kage level shinobi rapidly approaching their location and tried to warn his teammates but it was too late. They were too fast and now he was separated from both Kiba and Sasuke. He felt the two jounin level signatures headed in his direction as he picked himself off the ground. Minato readied himself for the enemy. Soon he saw the two Kusa nin who were accompanying the strange long tongued girl from earlier appear. 

“Well look what we have here… A little piggy ripe for the slaughter.” The one on the right said. Both Kusa Nin were dressed darkly with straw hats. The one on the right had a mask on and was extremely tall while the left one was very short with the character for ‘crime’ written on his clothes. 

“Sorry gentlemen, but I have business elsewhere.” Minato said dropping down into a fighting stance with a kunai held in each hand. 

“Not while we’re around! Now show us your blood!” The tall one screamed charging wildly forwards as his partner hung back for support. 

Naruto engaged him in a rapid taijutsu fight. The tall man’s style was extremely unorthodox, he weaved and bobbed as if he were drunk. Pushing Naruto back with his unpredictable sweeping movements. The short one was extremely accurate with kunai and shuriken that he peppered Naruto with from a distance. Naruto was hard pressed to avoid all the attacks the duo was throwing at him. 

‘ _ Tch. I’ll have to release my resistance seals for this! I have to get to Kiba and Sasuke fast! Who ever is going after them is out of their league!’  _

Naruto leapt towards at the short man, escaping the taller man. He threw an extremely telegraphed punch that the short man avoided by ducking. But he ducked into a sharp snap kick to the chin from Naruto. 

“Gah! You bastard!” 

The short man responded to the kick with a punch that whizzed over Naruto’s head. Naruto spun and swept the man’s feet out from under him, he swiftly buried a kunai into the man’s neck, ending his life. 

His companion roared in anger and started to perform hand seals. Naruto dodged out of the way of a burst of earth spikes that exploded from the ground beneath him. He turned to the tall man who was still performing hand seals. He hid behind a tree as he registered the jutsu the man was about to unleash. A great dragon made of earth rose from the forest floor and began to shoot a devastating barrage of earth bullets into the trees where Naruto was hiding. 

Naruto dashed between the trees, hopping up to the higher branches out of reach of the man. He flipped through hand signs and sent a wave of wind blades back down at the man. The man yelped and formed an earth dome around himself blocking the wind blades. The collision between wind and earth sent up a cloud of dust, blocking vision for a few precious seconds. When the dust cleared the dome was cracked open but the man was missing. 

Minato smirked. He had fought countless Iwa nin who’d used this tactic. He dropped down into the clearing and acted like a confused Genin. He stumbled about, poking at the dome curiously. A hand burst from the ground and latched onto his ankle. He gave a shout as he was pulled into the ground up to his neck. The man slowly emerged from the ground and began to gloat. 

“Foolish little Genin, you may have gotten lucky with killing my partner, but I’ll be taking my time with you… Heheh I can’t wait.” The man bent over him caressing his cheek gently and then grabbed his hair roughly, “Now where should I start cutting first? Eyes? Ears? Nose?” 

“None of the above.” Naruto quipped. He stuck his tongue out at the man childishly and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The man’s eyes widened before he fell with a kunai in the back of his head. 

Naruto sighed as he stood above the two dead bodies. He turned towards the direction he sensed Kiba and Sasuke struggling, and vanished in a shunpo. 

  
  
  


Picking himself up from the wind blast, Sasuke coughed as he choked on some of the debris in the air. 

“Sasuke! Are you alright!?” He heard Kiba shout. 

Sasuke cautiously peeked around a tree at where he heard Kiba’s voice from. He relaxed a bit as he saw that Kiba was fine. 

“Kiba, over here.” Sasuke said. Kiba turned to him and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh good, you bastard. I thought we were goners. What the hell was that?” 

Sasuke twitched his fingers in Kiba’s directions carefully. He narrowed his eyes when Kiba didn’t react. “Kiba, have you seen Naruto?” 

“Nope. Hopefully he’s alright too…” Kiba said scratching the back of his head. 

Sasuke threw a kunai at Kiba. Kiba yelped and dodged ridiculously. 

“Hey! What was that for Sasuke you bastard!?” 

“Who are you? Where’s Akamaru?” 

Kiba looked around for a few seconds, “Akamaru? He’ll be back in a second!” 

Sasuke titled his head up. “Hmph. You’re not Kiba you didn’t respond to the code and Akamaru would never be far from Kiba. Don’t even try it.” 

Kiba stilled, he lowered his head and laughed raspily , “I see. How clever of you three to have learned hunter nin hand signs.” 

A poof of smoke engulfed Kiba. When the smoke dissipated the strange Kusa kunoichi stood there smiling wickedly. 

  
  
  
  


Kiba groaned and picked himself up from the ground shaking his head slightly. “Akamaru? You okay buddy?” He asked. 

Akamaru whined at him from his side in response. 

“Aw, I see buddy, here hop in.” Kiba unzipped his jacket slightly for Akamaru to climb in. 

“Well, Akamaru looks like we’ll have to find those two fools.” Akamaru yipped at him. “We’ll be fine buddy.” A whimper. “Wait what? A snake?” 

Kiba turned slowly to find a gigantic snake looming over him. It was the size of a small building and its eyes were locked hungrily onto Kiba. 

Kiba gulped, “H-huge…” 

The snake lunged forwards. Kiba yelped and dodged to the side. He jumped over a tail that whipped at him from behind. 

“No way am I being snake food here! Akamaru with me!” He yelled tossing a food pill at Akamaru. Akamaru chomped down on the pill and leapt out of Kiba’s jacket. His fur turned bright red and he crouched down growling. 

“Jujin Bunshin! Let’s go!” 

Akamaru barked and transformed into a copy of Kiba. Both Kiba’s bent down on all fours and charged the snake. They assaulted the snake with quick blows from sharp claws in all directions. The snake writhed and thrashed around, trying to hit both Kibas with its massive bulk. Unfortunately for the snake the Kibas were too fast. They nimbly ducked around the snake’s wild moves. 

“Akamaru!”

“Woof!”

Both Kibas stopped on a dime and charged straight for the snakes throat in a pair of gatsugas. They drilled through the snake’s thick skin and punched a hole through the snake. 

“Whew! This forest is kinda crazy, eh, Akamaru?” 

“Arf.”

“Yeah buddy. Let’s go find Naruto and Sasuke.” 

  
  


The kunoichi stared Sasuke down with beady eyes. She pulled out an earth scroll causing Sasuke’s eyes to widen. 

“I suppose you’ll be wanting our scroll hm? Since you want to eliminate the opposition?” She smiled nastily. Then she held the scroll to her mouth and swallowed it in a gruesome display. Her tongue wrapped around the scroll as she pushed it down her throat. “Now then… why don't we fight to the death over these scrolls? One on one.” 

Sasuke froze in horror as images of his death assaulted his mind. He watched himself die over and over. Kunai to the head. Decapitation. Torn in half. Crushed. Slashed to pieces. A cold chill went down his spine. Instinctively he knew this woman was no ordinary genin. He was going to die right this instant. 

Sasuke dropped to his knees and vomited. He trembled uncontrollably and panted for breath. His Sharingan activated automatically.

‘ _ Illusion! It’s an illusion! Not death! Just an incredible simulation!’  _ He told himself furiously. ‘ _ If I don't get out of here I’ll die!!’ _

The woman laughed. “I imagine you’re paralyzed by now…”

Sasuke forced himself back to his feet and stared warily at the woman. He slowly moved his hand to his kunai holster and pulled one out. It was a small reassurance, though it felt useless against the sheer weight of the killing intent being pressed down upon him. 

The woman casually took out a kunai and lobbed it in his direction with a lazy flick. Sasuke watched the kunai speed towards him in slow motion. His muscles locked up against his will under the force of his fear.

Splash! A burst of blood spilled across the forest floor. 

The woman walked up to the puddle in amusement. Sasuke had dodged at the very last moment and disappeared into the trees. 

Sasuke had slammed his kunai into his own thigh. Overpowering the overwhelming fear with pain and forcing himself to escape. 

Sitting on the branch of a thick tree Sasuke panted in fear and pain. He trembled as he ripped the kunai out of his thigh. Sasuke peeked around the tree for a glimpse of the woman. 

Just based on killing intent alone he already knew he couldn’t win against her. It was a thousand times worse compared to the killing intent he’d felt when he faced Zabuza. The mental exercises he performed with Kakashi were useless underneath the mind numbing fear. 

Sasuke was so caught up in his fear that he didn’t notice a large snake crawling up to him. The snake opened its mouth and lunged at him.

Sasuke gave a shout as he leapt away, he saw a shadow of the woman behind the snake as it lunged for him. He threw a brace of shuriken at the snake, shouting, “Get away!” 

The snake collapsed on the tree branches, dead. 

Sasuke watched in horror as the Kusa nin emerged from the snake’s neck like it was a cocoon. 

“For shame.” She said licking her lips, “Stay on your toes like a good prey. It makes the chase so much more rewarding… For the predator!” The woman slithered up the tree branches like a snake. Her body stretching and contorting unnaturally as she advanced on a fear stricken Sasuke. 

Thud! Thud! Thunk! 

The woman halted in her advance as a brace of shuriken and kunai embedded themselves in her path. 

“Sorry Sasuke! I’m late!” Kiba yelled from a tree across from them, waving his hand in a distinct motion. Akamaru barked from atop his head. 

“Kiba stay back! Run! This guy is out of our league!” Sasuke yelled back. 

The woman chuckled, “Congratulations for defeating that snake child.” 

Kiba crouched as if to pounce at the woman. Sasuke started at seeing his friend take up a combat stance. He deactivated his Sharingan and hurriedly pulled out the decoy scrolls saying, “If it's our scrolls you want. Just take them and go!” 

“Well done.” The woman purred. “You’re obviously natural born prey, knowing your only hope… Lies in the chance of the predator being distracted by tastier bait!” 

Sasuke threw the scrolls at the woman who caught it easily. 

Kiba jumped over to stand at Sasuke’s side and whispered angrily, “If what you said is true and she’s stronger. What if she doesn’t care about the scroll?” 

Akamaru whimpered piteously and trembled Kiba looked up at him in worry. 

“Wait really, Akamaru? Shit.” Kiba warily eyed the woman in a new light. 

The woman laughed, “Oh my, Sasuke. Your little friend is absolutely correct. I don’t care about the scrolls.” She rolled up her right sleeve revealing a strange snake tattoo and bit her left thumb. She swiped her thumb down the tattoo in a trail of blood. 

Sasuke and Kiba watched her apprehensively. 

Boom! 

A huge snake appeared beneath her in a cloud of smoke. The snake lunged for Sasuke. Sasuke froze in terror again. He numbly watched the approaching snake in horror. 

He was abruptly tackled out of the way by Kiba. 

“Snap out of it Sasuke! You big chicken!” Kiba shouted at him. 

The snake lashed out with its tail and whipped Kiba to the side. Sending him crashing into a tree and falling to the forest floor. 

“Kiba!” Sasuke yelled seeing his friend plummet to the floor unconscious. 

A flash of yellow appeared and caught Kiba. 

Akamaru barked in relief at not falling anymore. 

“Sasuke! Are you okay!?” Naruto shouted up at him. 

“Heh. Nice save.” The woman said sarcastically.

“Take Kiba and run!” Sasuke shouted at him. 

Naruto’s face hardened. He formed a shadow clone and had it carry Kiba off. 

“I’m not leaving you alone to fight!” Naruto yelled. 

The snake lunged for Sasuke again. Sasuke jumped up to a higher branch and clung to the underneath of the branch with chakra. He looked at where the unconscious Kiba had been and clenched his fists. He couldn’t afford to be a coward now! His friends were in danger! He opened his eyes revealing the Sharingan in its full glory. Sasuke had now developed two tomoe in each eye. 

The woman smiled and directed the snake to charge at Sasuke. Suddenly the snaked lurched and Naruto came bursting out of the snake’s neck, the remnants of extremely dense chakra dissipating from his right hand.

The woman growled and leapt towards Sasuke. Sasuke whipped out a series of shuriken and kunai and sent them flying towards the woman. The woman weaved around the projectiles on the tree branch and headed straight for Sasuke. Sasuke smirked and tugged the wire he had hidden in his mouth. The shuriken swung around and bound the woman to the tree trunk behind her with wire. Sasuke flipped through hand signs and sent a stream of fire roaring down the wire at the woman. 

She screamed as the fire melted her flesh. Sasuke smirked triumphantly. 

The fire died down as she when limp, her head drooped forwards and she slumped in the wire bindings. 

Then the woman snapped out of the fire weakened ninja wire. She raised her head at Sasuke, revealing peeling skin and another face beneath her original face.

Sasuke’s smile disappeared in an instant.

“That one so young could have such mastery over the Sharingan!” She crowed. “I believe I want you as well!” She swept a hand over her Kusa headband and revealed that it was a Sound hitai-ate instead. “You really are  _ his  _ brother after all.” 

Sasuke started. “Who the hell are you!?” He yelled in anger. 

She held out the decoy scrolls that Sasuke had thrown at her and they were consumed in a green fire. “I am Orochimaru. If you’d ever like a rematch then pass this exam as fast as you can! I'll see you again if you can defeat the three Sound ninja under me.” She formed a strange hand sign. Her neck suddenly extended and shot forward at Sasuke. She twisted abruptly as three kunai flew by her neck, narrowly impaling her to the tree.

Naruto landed next to Sasuke on the branches, “Combo?” He asked.

Sasuke grinned at him, “Combo.” 

Both boys turned towards Orochimaru and weaved hand signs simultaneously. Sasuke launched a great ball of flame towards Orochimaru and Naruto followed it up with a blast of wind. The already large fireball doubled in size. Orochimaru’s eyes widened with glee. A combination jutsu at so young! 

Orochimaru took the jutsu head on. When the fire cleared all that remained behind was a pile of burnt sludge. 

“Sasuke!”

“Yeah!”

Both boys leapt away from the branch as Orochimaru exploded out of it beneath them. The man lashed a long tounge out at Sasuke. 

Sasuke threw a kunai and pinned the muscle to the branch behind it. Naruto took advantage of the pin and rushed at 

Orochimaru. He engaged the man in a high level taijutsu fight. Orochimaru’s eyes widened. A genin that could keep up with his speed? Unthinkable! The man wrung an elbow at Naruto’s face, causing the boy to duck into Orochimaru’s guard. Naruto punched at Orochimaru’s torso with a bright blue ball of chakra forming on his palm. He shoved the ball into Orochimaru’s stomach and the man popped into a cloud of smoke before his eyes. 

Naruto turned worriedly towards Sasuke only to find the boy held in Orochimaru’s arms. 

Orochimaru grinned at Naruto and then bit onto Sasuke’s neck as Sasuke yelled out. 

“I look forward to seeing you again Sasuke… In the quest for power!” He cackled. 

Sasuke fell to his knees on the tree branch, clutching his neck in pain as a three tomoe symbol began forming on his neck. Orochimaru melted into the tree and promptly disappeared from sight. 

Sasuke shouted in pain and collapsed into Naruto’s arms. 

Naruto looked at the slowly forming mark on Sasuke’s neck in worry. He jumped off the tree carrying Sasuke and formed a few shadow clones to collect Kiba and Akamaru. He cursed under his breath. Every moment was crucial in such a high level fight and he had mistaken Orochimaru’s true objective in the fight. How could he have made such an elementary mistake?


	26. Cursed Days

Laying Sasuke and Kiba down in a natural hollow created by large tree roots, Minato considered his options. He shuffled them around on the ground and lay their heads on their pouches. Minato knew Kiba would wake in time but until then, he would let the boy rest. He felt Sasuke’s forehead and tsked. The boy was burning up. He took out a small towel and wet it with water from a canteen and placed it on Sasuke’s forehead. 

Minato cursed as he inspected the seal on Sasuke’s neck. It was a nasty piece of work. He worried if Sasuke would even survive the implantation. He couldn’t seal it away until it had settled into Sasuke. And wasn’t that something to consider? The seal would no doubt have consequences on his psyche and chakra systems. 

The seal was disgusting and distorted nature energy in a way that made Minato want to puke just by probing it with his senses. The most disturbing thing about the seal was the fragment of a soul that he could feel in it. Orochimaru had really out done himself with this seal. 

Minato sighed to himself, he was stuck in the forest of death with two deadweights. He stood and began to plaster the interior of the hollow with barrier seals. Then he walked out of the hollow and began planting traps all over the surrounding areas. He returned to Sasuke’s side as the boy began groaning in pain again. Minato held onto his hand tightly. He wouldn’t be able to face Itachi if his brother died like this. He wouldn’t be able to face himself either. 

Minato settled in to wait for both boys to wake up. He began to meditate as a way to rest and recover. Soon he sensed three chakra signatures appear near their hollow. He tensed, expecting them to attack right away. The three signatures were distinctly hostile and he recognized them as the three Sound nin who had attacked Kabuto. 

However it seemed that they had decided to wait to attack instead of charging in. Minato began subtly drawing extra protection seals on the walls of the hollow. He didn’t want to worry about his teammates if things got messy. 

The Sound ninja waited until daybreak to make their move. Minato had spent the entire night on edge waiting. He was well aware of their actions as they sent a squirrel with a paper bomb attached to it towards him. He threw a kunai just in front of the squirrel and scared it off. The Sound nin appeared to reconsider their approach. They shifted positions to higher up into the surrounding trees.

“Hey. You. Wake up Sasuke for us. We want to take him on.” The one in the fur cape called down to him. 

“Why? What does this mark on Sasuke’s neck mean? What does Orochimaru want from him?” Minato yelled back. 

The three Sound nin paused for a second as they processed his words. The one in the fur wondered aloud, “I wonder what Orochimaru’s up to?” 

Minato tsked, they were throw away lackeys, that much he could tell. They didn’t know anything and were simply blindly following orders. He readied himself, pulling out a pair of kunai. 

The instant they leapt into the clearing surrounding the hollow Naruto was up and moving. He triggered several traps manually, not taking any chances with the Sound ninja’s abilities still unknown. 

The Sound nin reacted quickly, leaping above swinging logs and flying kunai. They ducked and weaved through sprung shuriken and barely dodged an exploding tag as they burst into the clearing. They looked a little worse for wear as they panted in a relatively safe area of the trap filled clearing. 

Minato smirked. That was only a small demonstration of what he’d filled the clearing with. He held his hand over a set of seals made to set off another round of traps on the Sound Shinobi. He felt several other chakra signatures approaching the clearing but they didn’t feel hostile. He idly wondered why Lee, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were here. He shrugged and lowered his hand on the seals, setting off the rest of the trapped clearing. 

Several explosions rang out through the clearing. When the smoke cleared the Sound nin were riddled with senbon and smoking slightly. They coughed and angrily staggered towards Naruto. Naruto honestly had to commend them for their tenacity. He stood and casually made his way out of the hollow. 

The Sound nin with the character for death on his shirt roared in anger at him, “I’ll destroy you! You little brat!” He raised his arms up at Naruto and sent a huge blast of wind at him. 

The trees behind Naruto were blasted to bits but Naruto was nowhere to be found. Naruto suddenly appeared behind him and chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out. 

The fur clad Genin and his kunoichi teammate leapt backwards in shock at Naruto’s speed. They barely had time to react before Naruto was upon them. He swiftly kicked the kunoichi to the side before he rushed the fur caped Genin. The male Genin bravely stood his ground, he swung at Naruto with a telegraphed right hook that Naruto avoided. 

Recalling what had happened to Kabuto, Naruto had dodged the punch with an extreme prejudice and backed all the way up to the hollow. Taking advantage of the distance her teammate had created the Kunoichi threw a volley of senbon at Naruto. Naruto avoided them all easily and ran straight at her. He spun and kicked her high into the air and threw a brace of shuriken after her. Not even looking to see if he had hit his mark he turned back to the Genin in the fur cape and disappeared in a shunpo. The quick shunpo brought him behind the Genin and he dispatched him with a swift blow to the head. 

In the bushes Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji gaped. Naruto had just taken on three Sound nin by himself without breaking a sweat! 

“Ah, you four can come out now.” Naruto called out to the surrounding forest as he finished tying up the unconscious Sound Shinobi.

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji awkwardly stumbled out of the bushes laughing. “H-hi Naruto. Don’t mind us we were just passing by…” Ino said. 

“H-hey Naruto when’d you get so strong?” Choji asked hesitantly. 

Naruto’s only reply was a nonchalant shrug. 

Lee burst out of the trees opposite to the Ino-Shika-Cho. “Yosh! Naruto-kun that was a very youthful fight! I commend you for taking on a three versus one and winning! Please fight me next!” 

“Ahaha… No thanks Lee… Maybe next time.” 

“Lee! What are you doing?! You’re late!” A voice called out from the trees. 

The girl with the twin buns hopped down from the trees along with a boy that Minato recognized as a Hyuga. 

“Lee come on! We gotta get going!” The girl scolded. 

“Ah! My apologies Tenten!” Lee bowed deeply, “I was busy witnessing a most youthful fight!”

“Ah, well don’t let us keep you…” Naruto said awkwardly. What was with this impromptu meeting in the woods? 

The Hyuga boy pointed imperiously at Naruto and asked, “You. What is your name?” 

Naruto pointed at himself, “Me? I’m Uzumaki Naruto…” 

The Hyuga inclined his head slightly and then jumped away. 

“Ah! Hey Neji! Wait for us!” Tenten yelled before jumping away after him. 

“Yosh! Until next time Naruto-kun!” Lee gave a big thumbs up and a sparkling smile before he too vanished into the trees. 

“So uh.” Naruto turned to Ino’s group. “You guys need anything?”

Ino shook her head slowly, “I uh. Eheh. Think we should get going too… But Sasuke’s alright, right?” She asked awkwardly. 

Naruto sighed and smiled weakly, “He’s just taking a break. You know how it is…” 

“Haha. Of course! Let’s get going!” Ino said, slapping Shikamaru roughly on the shoulder. 

Shikamaru whined pathetically before he took ahold of Choji’s scarf and hauled him up to leave. 

“What did we even come here for?” Choji asked as they too left. 

Naruto sighed. That was all the spectators taken care of. Now he just had to wait until someone woke up so he could question them. 

He settled in to wait. Again. 

  
  


After several long minutes Kiba began stirring along with Akamaru. Naruto waited for Kiba to get his bearings before he asked, “Hey Kiba? What the hell happened when I was gone?” 

“Huh? Wha-? Oh! Naruto! You’re okay!” Kiba jumped up and began inspecting Naruto, patting him down and searching for injuries. 

“Kiba! I’m fine!” Naruto pushed Kiba off of him. “Now explain what happened to you and Sasuke!” 

Kiba sat back down and finally seemed to notice an unconscious Sasuke lying next to him. 

“Oh shit! Sasuke! Is he alright Naruto?” Kiba asked worriedly. Naruto simply nodded in response, gesturing for Kiba to continue. “I don't really know what happened. We were attacked out of nowhere right? And this giant snake showed up and tried to eat me. But I killed it of course! Then I found Sasuke being attacked by this weird woman and she summoned a giant snake and... I don't remember much after that…” 

“Bark.” 

“Oh yeah and Sasuke threw our scrolls at her.” 

Naruto sighed. That didn’t really answer any of his questions. He would just have to wait for the Sound nin to wake up, or for Sasuke. Kiba stared in surprise at the bound up Sound nin and stuttered a few questioning noises but quieted down when Naruto glared at him. 

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long for answers as Sasuke began exuding a sinister chakra from all over his body. 

Naruto stared at the boy in worry. Was this supposed to happen? 

Sasuke woke up groaning with strange fiery black marks spreading all over his skin. He stood and inspected himself and grinned wickedly. 

“Sasuke?” Naruto asked warily, “How are you feeling?” 

Sasuke looked at Naruto with distant eyes and replied, “Fine. I feel like I’m bursting with power. I feel… Strong…” He clenched his fist tightly, “I understand now Naruto, I am an avenger. On the path that I walk. I have to do whatever it takes to gain power… Even if it means selling my flesh to the devil!” 

Naruto slapped Sasuke hard in the face sending him to the ground. 

“Woah! I get he’s an asshole but is that really necessary!?” Kiba yelped. “And what the hell is up with those markings Sasuke?” 

“Naruto?” Sasuke asked holding his face, “You want to fight me!? Good! This will be my chance to test out this new power!” 

“Sasuke get a hold of yourself! Didn’t you say you wanted to know the truth!? This isn’t you! Wake up!” Naruto shouted. 

Sasuke didn’t say anything. He simply stood and took a fighting stance. Then he vanished in a cloud of dust.

Naruto blocked a hard kick to his face with his arms. 

‘ _ Fast! Is this a bastardized sage mode using nature energy?!’  _ Naruto thought as he released his resistance seals up to level six. Naruto backed away from Sasuke quickly but Sasuke sent a barrage of fire bullets trailing after him. Naruto shunpoed and dodged the fireballs by closing in on Sasuke. Sasuke grinned and charged at Naruto, engaging him in a high speed taijutsu battle. Naruto quickly noted that Sasuke’s physical attributes had greatly increased but not his base skills. He still had the same holes in his defenses that he had before the seal. Taking advantage of his greater experience Minato tackled sasuke and began to grapple with him on the forest floor. He held Sasuke in an arm lock and shouted, “Are you yourself yet? I can do this all day you brat!” 

Sasuke struggled in Naruto’s hold futilely. Panting Sasuke roared, “You don’t understand! I have to kill Itachi for what he did! I need more power!” 

“Calm down Sasuke! You’re not thinking straight! The curse mark is affecting your thoughts! I need to seal it away!” 

“No! You don’t understand! Its giving me power! I need this power!”

“No you don’t! You’re being consumed by the seal! Come back to yourself Sasuke!”

Kiba hurried over to the boys struggling on the ground, “Woah Naruto what’s going on? What seal?” 

“Orochimaru bit him and left a curse mark! It’s what’s driving him crazy right now!” Naruto yelled at Kiba impatiently. 

Kiba tilted his head, “Wait who’s Orochimaru?” 

“Kiba! It's the one who attacked us! One of the great Sannin!’

“Oh Shit! Really? Damn! We survived him? Holy cow.”

“If you could calm down, Sasuke! I can help you!” Naruto shouted in Sasuke’s ear. 

Sasuke slowly stopped struggling, the curse marks form his neck fading away as he lay on the ground inhaling deeply. 

Judging that Sasuke had calmed enough, Naruto finally got off of the boy. 

“Calmed down a bit? Think clearly. There’s obviously something that Orochimaru wants from you. This isn’t the first time sound ninja have come for you. The seal isn’t anything good for you.” Naruto scowled. 

Sasuke sat up and nodded at Naruto, “Is there anything I can do about this mark?” He asked. 

“You can do nothing. I can seal away the mark. Come back to the hollow and let me prepare a few things.” 

Sasuke nodded grumpily and followed Naruto back to the hollow. 

Naruto pulled out his sealing supplies and gestured to Sasuke to take off his shirt. Sasuke quietly obeyed him and he was pushed to sit down in front of Naruto with his back facing him. Kiba leaned curiously over Sasuke’s back as Naruto began painting various symbols in his own blood around the curse mark. Naruto swatted Kiba away and painted five complicated circles around the curse mark. 

“This will hurt for a bit okay, Sasuke? After its done you won’t have to worry about the mark. I’ll be researching how to get it off of you in the meantime. So try not to worry too much about this.” 

Sasuke had a contemplative expression on as he nodded at Naruto and motioned for him to get on with it. 

Naruto formed a few hand seals behind Sasuke and then slapped his hands on top of the mark, “Seal!” He shouted, activating the complicated array. 

Sasuke screamed in pain as the symbols on his skin writhed and condensed into a solid black ring around the three tomoe mark. He collapsed forwards into Kiba’s arms and gasped for breath. 

“Sorry about that Sasuke. But.it had to be done. You might encounter a few issues with your chakra control, but at least I made it so that you can still use chakra.” 

Sasuke nodded weakly at Naruto and gasped out a thanks. 

Meanwhile the fur caped Sound nin had woken up. He had witnessed the fight between Sasuke and Naruot and knew that he wouldn’t be able to defeat them, even with his teammates. He eyed Naruto warily as Naruto approached the bound up Sound nin.

“So my dear Sound nin.” Naruto began sarcastically, “What exactly does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?” 

The Genin shook his head, “I don’t know. We were just following orders. We were ordered to kill uchiha Sasuke under the guise of the Exams but it appears that lord Orochimaru got to him first…” 

Naruto nodded, it was as he’d suspected. 

The Sound nin continued, “Please let us go. There is something afoot here that I would like to investigate. I will leave out scroll with you as a token of our admiration for your skills and as some reparation for your trouble.” 

Naruto turned to Kiba and Sasuke who was gingerly prodding at the skin of his neck. “What do you guys think?” 

“Uh yeah. How’d you get them tied up and stuff?” Kiba asked. 

Minato smiled back ominously, making Kiba shiver and reconsider his question. 

“Let them go. It's not like they can do anything to us.” Sasuke said. 

“Sure. Let’s leave them tied up here until we leave then.” Naruto said. “Now let's get going. We have to make it to the tower. The Hokage needs to know what happened here.” 

“Yeah…” said Kiba.

  
  
  
  


The next day, after fishing at the river that crossed the Forest of Death, team seven set off towards the tower. 

“Man we’re lucky that Naruto made decoy scrolls.” Kiba remarked as they leaped through the trees. 

“Indeed…” Said Sasuke, still rather thoughtful. 

‘We’re still rather early into the exams so there should only be a few ambushes near the tower. If we’re lucky we will avoid them all. People will start getting desperate near the end and converge at the tower.” Said Naruto. 

“Yeah. Lucky us getting an earth scroll right off the bat huh, Akamaru!?”

“Bark!”

“You said it buddy!” 

Naruto gestured to his teammates to stop for a minute. “Hold on.” He said. 

“What is it Naruto? Kiba asked.

“There a lone Genin up ahead. I think… it’s Kabuto?” 

“What’s he doing by himself out here?” Sasuke asked. 

“Who knows...” Said Naruto, “i think we should avoid him. What do you guys say?” 

“What!? But we can see if he has his team’s scrolls and take them out!” 

“But they’re a Konoha team as well. Isn’t it better to leave them be?” Said Sasuke. 

Kiba hmphed. “When you have to fight someone from his tea, I’ll laugh at you Sasuke.” 

Naruto scratched his chin, “So I guess we’re avoiding him then?” 

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

“Arf.” 

Thus team seven proceeded uneventfully to the tower. 

Entering the tower the team was greeted by an empty room and an inscription on the wall. 

The inscription read, “If qualities of Heaven are your desire. Acquire wisdom and knowledge to take your mind higher. If Earthly qualities are what you lack. Train you body in the fields and prepare to attack. When both Heaven and Earth are opened together, the path of peril will revert to the righteous path forever. This “ “ is the secret way… That guides us on from this place today. - Sandaime Hokage.” 

Naruto smiled at the inscription. He pulled out the scrolls and handed the heaven scroll to Sasuke. Sasuke nodded at him and opened the heaven scroll at the same time he opened the earth scroll. 

Naruto looked down at the simplistic fuinjutsu drawn on the scrolls, deciphering its meaning immediately. The scroll was a basic summoning array with the character for ‘human’ drawn on the center. “Throw it away Sasuke!” He yelled tossing his own scroll to the ground. 

Sasuke copied him and there was a puff of smoke from the scrolls. The smoke cleared to reveal Iruka standing proudly in front of them. 

“It's been a while, huh?” He asked cheerfully. 

“Ah hello Iruka-sensei.” Naruto said bowing slightly. 

“Iruka-sensei. What are you doing here?” Kiba asked. 

“The scrolls were designed so that Chuunin could greet the applicants at the end of the second exam. It was luck that I ended up as the messenger for you three. Congratulations! I would like to take you out to Ichiraku’s but maybe later hm?” 

“Thank you Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said smiling,

“Ne, ne. Iruka-sensei. What would you have done if we opened the scrolls in the forest?” Kiba asked.

“Ah I would have been required to knock you out until the exam had ended.” 

“Oh I see.” 

“I’m also here to explain the inscription to you. The blank space is for the character ‘human’ . It represents what all Chuunin should be.” 

“Thank you sensei but is there some way to contact the Hokage? We need to tell him something important.” 

“Huh? What’s wrong, Naruto?” 

“Orochimaru has infiltrated the exams and place a curse mark on Sasuke.” 

“What!?”

“Ah yeah the guy showed up out of nowhere and attacked us.” Chirped Kiba. 

“Damn. This is serious. I’ll get the Hokage here right away, You guys just hang tight here.” Iruka said as he walked over to a door at the side of the room and disappeared in a shunshin. 

The team didn’t wait long for the Hokage. They were soon called into an office where the Hokage sat with several ANBU surrounding him. 

The Hokage had his fingers crossed in front of his face and an extremely grave expression on. “So, what was that about Sasuke and Orochimaru?” 

“Yes sir. We were separated in the forest by a high level wind jutsu. When we tried to regroup a Kusa kunoichi had imitated Kiba. She attacked immediately after he was exposed and summoned a large snake to attack. Kiba was knocked out by the snake but saved by Naruto who had just arrived. I hit her with a fire jutsu that ruined her disguise slightly. She then declared that her name was Orochimaru. Naruto managed to dispel the summon but she bit me and left a mark on my neck that provided me with unimaginable power.” Sasuke reported rubbing at his neck ruefully. 

“I see… May I see this mark Sasuke-kun?” The Hokage asked. 

Sasuke pulled down his collar and revealed the three tomoes encircled by a thick black ring. 

“Hmm? Who performed this sealing jutsu on the curse mark?” 

“I did Hokage-sama.” Said Naruto. 

“I see. I was not aware that you were so prodigious in the sealing arts. Good work Naruto.” 

“Thank you.” 

“I’m afraid I may be be in further need of your skills though Naruto.” 

Naruto tilted his head, “Huh?”

“I’m sorry Sasuke-kun, you may want to sit down for this.” The Hokage gestured to a chair off to the side and waited for Sasuke to take a seat. 

“Unfortunately we were only altered of Orochimaru’s presence in the exams after Naruto informed Anko of the swap and the bodies of the real Kusa nin were discovered. While we were preoccupied with trying to apprehend Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, he had struck somewhere else.” 

Sasuke felt a pit form at the bottom of his stomach. 

“Orochimaru targeted the survivors of the Uchiha clan. He has marked all fifteen members of the clan and we are still unsure if all members will survive. So far Uchiha Genki and Uchiha Yoichi have succumbed to the seal.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widened at the news. He would have fallen to his knees if he hadn’t already been sitting. He rested his head in his hands and swallowed past a lump in his throat. 

“Konoha has currently declared a state of war due to Orochimaru’s meddlings. We cannot cancel the exams due to a threat that he has issued as well as complicated relations with the foreign nations attending the exams.” 

“What… But what happened to the ANBU who were guarding the Uchiha clan?” Sasuke asked, head shooting back up to look desperately at the Hokage. 

The Hokage sighed. “They were all killed in the line of duty defending the Uchiha clan. I understand if you want to back out of the exams to mourn Sasuke.” 

Sasuke choked… Orochimaru said he could meet him at the end of the exams… 

Sasuke’s eyes hardened. “N-no. Hokage-sama. I will be continuing these exams.” 

“I see… I wish you the best of luck. There are still three days before the final round of the exams so please rest up until then I’ll have an ANBU direct you to your rooms. But if Naruto could stay behind to seal the curse marks...” 

Naruto nodded then walked up and placed a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Sasuke…” he said softly, “Its okay to mourn. I’ll what I can for your clan. In the meantime take it easy alright?” 

Kiba walked up and placed his hand on Sasuke’s other shoulder frowning, “We’re here for you dude. Just… remember that okay?” 

Sasuke nodded numbly and stood. He wobbled in place as Kiba and Naruto steadied him. He shakily followed the ANBU picked to lead them to their rooms. 

Kiba and Naruto looked at each other in worry as they watched Sasuke’s retreating back. 


	27. Preliminary Days

Sasuke was numb. He laid on the bed unmoving. Kiba stared worriedly at him from the corner. 

He would never see Genki and Yoichi ever again.

After the slaughter all remaining members had become much closer. They had no one else after all. Genki would never smile crookedly after a prank again. Yoichi would never ask him to read to him again. 

Sasuke didn’t even know if the rest of his clan would survive. 

The concept of being alone terrified him more than he thought it would. 

He remembered the kind ANBU who helped around the household with a bitter taste in his mouth. 

They had taken over caring for the household when Izumi was busy with her own assignments out of the kindness of their hearts. Rabbit had been good with the children and always had a soft word for Sasuke. Tortoise, who was Rabbit’s partner, always had time to spar with him. Swan cooked delicious meals for them and organized the finances without a second thought. Partridge had ensured that nightmares never stayed long with their steady nighttime presence. 

And they had died for the sake of his family. He would forever be grateful to them. 

Sasuke would not forgive Orochimaru. He had done something unforgivable to his precious people. 

If anyone else died he wasn’t sure he could take it. 

There were so few of them already! Why did the world keep taking from him? How could he become strong enough to protect his family? 

Sasuke clenched his fists angrily. 

Kiba awkwardly edged his way out of the room with Akamaru, slipping out the door quietly. Making it out into the hallway, he came face to face with a worried looking Naruto. 

“How’s he doing Kiba?” Naruto asked in a low voice. 

“I don't really know man. He’s like, really out of it and seems angry.” 

“I see… I’ll try talking to him. Give us some time.” 

Kiba nodded, “Good luck man.” He walked off to do some training in a private area of the tower. 

Naruto sighed and knocked on the door to their shared room. He waited for Sasuke to open the door. When he finally did, Sasuke looked rather dazed. He walked back over to the bed and laid back down on it, staring blankly at the ceiling. Naruto slowly walked in after him, closing the door behind him. 

“So, Sasuke. A ryo for your thoughts?”

Sasuke remained silent, staring at the ceiling as if it held the secrets to the universe. 

“I thought you should know… Ichirou, Haruka, Izumi, Sachi, Haruto, Shinchi, Yosuke, Yamada, and Izuru all made it.” 

Sasuke covered his eyes with an arm. That meant Sousuke, Tanaka, and Hazara were gone. He swallowed roughly. Sousuke would never tell bad puns ever again. Tanaka would never learn how to cook. Hazara would never become a historian. The Uchiha clan was down to ten people. He swallowed roughly. 

“...Thanks.” He gestured to his neck. “For helping seal this shit away.” 

“Yeah. No problem.” 

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Naruto considered what to say next. 

“Naruto.” Sasuke croaked out. “How are you so strong?” 

Naruto leaned back against the wall and considered the question. “There are many types of strength, Sasuke. If you’re talking about physical strength, then it's because I’ve been training as soon as I’ve had conscious thought.” Naruto paused, “If you're talking about emotional strength, it's simply because I have experience…” 

Sasuke sat up, “But how. How do I become strong enough to take down someone like Orochhimaru?” Sasuke turned to Naruto his eyes burning with fury and tears spilling down his face. “How can I make him pay for what he’s done to my family? And how can I learn the truth of why Itachi was crying  _ that day _ ?” 

Naruto looked down, he suddenly found the floor very interesting. Was it time to tell Sasuke? He hesitated. But if he didn’t tell him now, just when was he deciding to tell Sasuke? But could Sasuke take the additional pain compounded with the death of the last of his family? Naruto shook his head. No… Not right now. He didn’t need to deal with this right now. He looked back up at Sasuke and took a deep breath.

“For now Sasuke. You train. I can help you grow stronger in time. For the Itachi situation. I will tell you when you are ready.” 

“When will I be ready though!?” Sasuke shouted. 

“When you are not grieving and when you can maintain a calm mind. I promised you remember? I won't go back on my promise.” 

Sasuke huffed angrily, he didn’t have the emotional capacity to be angry at both Naruto and Orochimaru. He flopped back down on the bed and resumed his silent staring contest with the ceiling. 

Naruto’s face softened. “How are you holding up so far Sasuke?” 

Sasuke threw an arm over his face again and grunted in response. 

“I see… Kiba and I are both here for you if you need anything. Do you want me to do anything in particular right now? I can leave if you want…” 

Sasuke waved his hand vaguely, “Just… Stay there…” 

“Okay, Sasuke.” 

Naruto slid to the floor and stayed there. He waited until Sasuke had started softly snoring to get up and get some food. He wandered off into the tower to find something to eat and bring back for Sasuke. 

In the large meeting hall just before the cafeteria he ran into a shaken looking Team 8. It seemed that they had been at the tower a day earlier than Naruto’s team. They were pale and the moment Naruto walked down the stairs, they were on alert. 

“O-oh It's just Naruto.” Sakura said, sitting back down. Hinata gave him a wobbly smile and wave from beside her. “Is Sasuke-kun alright? When did your team get here?” Sakura asked. 

“Ah hello. Sakura. Sasuke… He’s as fine as he can be.” Naruto rubbed his arm. “We got here yesterday, what about you guys?”

Shino adjusted his glasses and spoke, “We arrived the first day. Why? We got lucky, the first team we ambushed had an earth scroll.” 

“Oh I see. Why are you guys so jumpy today?” 

“N-N-Naruto-kun. W-we’ve been sharing the t-tower with one other team. T-they’re really d-dangerous.” Hinata stuttered. 

“Huh?”

“The Suna team.” Sakura clutched her shoulders and rubbed her arms, shivering. “They’ve been the only other team in the tower, we’ve been waiting for another team from Konoha to show up to warn them. The red haired kid on the Suna team is deadly. He kills without mercy! There’s something wrong with him!” 

_ ‘The Suna jinchuuriki? I wonder what’s up with him?’  _ Minato thought. 

“Well thanks for the warning I guess. Good luck in the next round. I just came by to get some food.” 

Shino nodded, “Indeed. May the same be said for you as well.” 

“G-good luck Naruto-kun!” Hinata said. 

Naruto waved Team 8 goodbye and returned to his team’s shared room. 

  
  


The assembled Genin stood before the Hokage and his Jounin and Chuunin subordinates at attention. It had been two days since Sasuke’s conversation with Naruto and the second exam had finally finished. The Genin had been led from the tower to a large arena with spectator railings along the walls and a large sculpture of two hands in a ram seal at the end of the room. 

“Congratulations to you all on passing the second exam!” The Hokage said to the young Shinobi lined up neatly in front of him. 

Out of the 66 applicants only 21 of them had made it to the third round. 

Naruto glanced around the room curiously inspecting the remaining competitors. His eyes narrowed as they fell on the Sound Genin. It seemed that had made it even though Naruto had taken their earth scroll. He looked towards their Jounin sensei and only his finely trained control kept him from widening his eyes in recognition. The severe looking man in a Sound uniform was no doubt Orochimaru in yet another false skin. The man hadn’t been able to mask his chakra signature completely but it seemed that in changing his disguise Orochimaru had also managed to mask his scent. Naruto looked at Kiba. Kiba hadn’t realized their attacker was here yet. 

Minato signaled to the hokage in a series of blinks and subtle finger twitches. The hokage blinked back at him and smoothly began to explain the true purpose of the Chuunin exams without a single hitch in breath. Behind his back, the Hokage was rapidly forming hand signs and alerting the Jounin standing behind him. 

“The strength of a country is derived from the strength of its village…” The Hokage said solemnly. 

‘ _ Orochimaru sighted.’  _

The Jounin subtly shifted in response. 

“And the village draws strength from the Shinobi who live there.”

‘ _ All Jounin ready. Possible battle imminent.’ _

“And the greatest strength of those shinobi only emerges in the midst of a desperate life-and-death battle!” 

‘ _ Signal ANBU.’  _

“These exams provide a public arena for each country to show off and boast the strength of its warriors. Hence the strength of the country itself!” 

_ ‘Surround perimeter.’  _

_ “ _ This test has meaning and great consequence. As you struggle for the sake of your very lives and your people, you help fulfill the dream that was envisioned by our ancestors.” 

‘ _ Eliminate escape routes.’  _

“But you’ve always emphasized the concept of ‘friendship’... why?!” Tenten interrupted. 

“Though my meaning is subtle, I choose my words with care. To preserve the balance of power at the risk of lives… is the essence of friendship in the Shinobi world. Let me reiterate before the third exam begins. You are taking no ordinary test!” The Hokage continued.

‘ _ Capture and neutralize after exams.’  _

“You not only risk your own futures and your dreams… But the dignity and prestige of your homeland as well.” 

‘Whatever. Could you wrap up the philosophical talk and get down to the life-and-death stuff anytime soon?” A raspy voice interrupted. Everyone turned to look at Gaara, subtly reprimanding for interrupting. 

“Hmph! Very well. I shall explain the third exam.” 

“...Forgive my interruption Hokage-sama” A jounin appeared in front of the Hokage kneeling. The Jounin was dressed in the standard Konoha uniform and lanky brown hair and a headband over his hair. He was pale and sickly looking with deep bags under his eyes. His voice was very soft and low. “If you don’t mind handing the rest of the proceedings over… To me Gekko Hayate, the proctor of the third exam.”

“...Go ahead.” Said the Hokage. 

Hayate stood and turned to face the Genin. “Good to meet you everyone… I’m Hayate.” He paused to cough several times. “Uh… Before we start the exam I must ask you all to do something for me… There are some preliminaries before you pass on to the main exam. Whether you proceed or not is dependent on how well you manage those.” 

There were a flurry of complaints, chiefly from Sakura. 

Hayate coughed and said, “I don't want to say that the first two exams were too easy… But we still have too many applicants. We will need a preliminary to reduce the number of applicants who’ll proceed. A number of honored guests will be observing the third exam. So the exam must be intense, tight, and fast moving…” He paused to cough again, “So now that you know what it’s all really about. Anyone who doesn’t feel up to the challenge, either physically or mentally, can walk away. Just take a step forward. The Preliminaries start now!” 

The contestants started. Now? Some of them had just arrived at the tower! Didn’t they get time to rest? 

A hand raised in the crowd of genin. “I’m outta here.” Kabuto said nonchalantly. 

Hayate looked down at the clipboard that appeared in his hand, “You’re Yakushi Kabuto of Konoha right? Okay. You can go.” Hayate coughed, “Uhh… I also forgot to mention that from here on in you fight as individuals… Not as team members so you can step out without worrying about your teammates. Anyone else want out? Raise your hands.” 

Naruto stared suspiciously at Kabuto. There was no obvious reason for Kabuto to drop out at this stage.

“Kabuto-san! Why are you quitting now? Isn’t this your chance?” Sakura asked. 

“Sorry Sakura, I got beat up real bad in the forest and I haven’t been able to hear out of my left ear since the second exams started. I just don’t think I’m up for this.” 

The Hokage watched Kabuto with an impassive face. He motioned to Anko to read off Kabuto’s stats. They weren’t particularly impressive. 14 D-ranks and 2 C-ranks to his name as well as an extremely average record. Except for the incident in which he was brought to Konoha. The boy was a survivor from the battle at Kikyo pass. The Hokage made extra hand signs behind his back to have his ANBU follow the boy out. 

Hayate looked up from his clipboard. “Is anyone else deciding to bail out?” 

No one moved. Naruto shot Sasuke a glance and tapped his neck, asking if he was alright. Sasuke nodded back firmly. Naruto’s seal was holding back any pain. 

Hayate looks around and assessed the faces of the determined Genin. “Ahh well then. We’ll now begin the preliminaries which will consist of individual combat matches as though this were part of a tournament. Since there are a total of twenty combatants left we will hold ten bouts. The victors of those matches will advance to the third exam.” Hayate coughed for a few seconds before continuing, “This is a no holds barred combat. Each pair will fight until one is dead or unconscious, or admits defeat. As soon as you sense that your opponent is overwhelming you, concede immediately if you value your life. Uhh…. Since we don't want a total blood bath there may be cases where we ascertain that there is an undisputed winner and step in to end the match. But don’t count on that. From here on out the key to your fate is…” Hayate paused as a small section on the wall behind him lifted up revealing an electronic screen. “This electronic scoreboard. At the start of every round, we will display the names of two combatants competing in that match. So uh. Not to um. Hurry you to the slaughter but let’s begin. We’ll now announce the first two names.”

The Genin waited with bated breaths as the scoreboard spun through names. It finally landed on two names, Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi. 

Kiba started laughing uproariously. Yoroi was one of Kabuto’s teammates. He was dressed similarly to Kabuto except he wore a veil over his face and had round black lenses where his eyes should be.

Kiba had absolutely called this! This was priceless. Kiba had told Sasuke that they should have taken out Kabuto! 

Sasuke glared at Kiba as the boy gloated to Akamaru, “Hahaha! I told you so! Didn’t I, boy?” 

“Arf!”

The two combatants made their way to the middle of the room with the proctor. 

Hayate looked at both competitors, “Akado Yoroi, Uchiha Sasuke… you two have been selected to compete in the first bout. Any objections?” 

“I’m good.” Sasuke said. 

“None.” Said Yoroi. 

“Uh… Well then. It's time for the first match. Everyone other than the two combatants should move to the upper level.” Hayate said waving at the raised platforms. 

The Genin made their way over to the stairs. Naruto clapped Sasuke on the shoulder just before he left. 

As Kakashi passed Sasuke he stopped and said, “Be careful when using chakra, push yourself too much and Naruto’s seal might break. His seal is relying on the power of the curse mark to keep it contained and the curse mark is linked to your chakra. But if you run out of chakra… Well if that happens the curse mark will run rampant and the consequences will change your life.” 

Sasuke place a hand over the mark and nodded. 

He stared determinedly at his opponent. 

“All right… Please begin!” Hayate called. 

Yoroi formed a hand seal, “Shall I start?” He asked. His right hand began to glow with charka and he reached into his pouch for shuriken. 

Yoroi threw three shuriken at Sasuke as an opening move and charged forwards with the shuriken. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and drew a kunai. 

Up in the stands the Sound Jounin sensei subtly frowned. 

He deflected the shuriken back at Yoroi. Yoroi sidestepped quickly and advanced on Sasuke with his right arm outstretched. He made a grab for Sasuke but Sasuke ducked underneath Yoroi’s arm into his guard. Sasuke proceeded to flip Yoroi over his shoulder, kicking at Yoroi’s legs and grappling with him on the ground. 

Suddenly Sasuke’s grip on Yoroi began to weaken. He gasped as he felt his strength leaving him. Was this a jutsu? Sasuke let off a burst of electricity from his hands causing Yoroi to yell and roll away from him. 

Sasuke panted on the ground as he reassessed his opponent. 

“Heh. Wondering what happened to your chakra?” Yoroi asked. 

Sasuke’s Sharingan spun, rapidly analyzing the chakra in Yoroi’s right hand. 

Yoroi jumped away from a spinning kick and rushed in again. He punched down at sasuke and shattered the ground slightly as Sasuke rolled away. 

Sasuke weaved signs and slapped his hands on the ground. He released a large stream of electricity at Yoroi. Yoroi jumped into the air to dodge. Sasuke threw a brace of shuriken at the man as he fell through the air. Yoroi pulled out his own kunai and deflected the projectiles, he landed and ran forwards trying to grab Sasuke. 

Sasuke narrowly avoided the grab, but he still felt his strength drained from him as Yoroi’s hand passed his head. He grunted and kicked Yoroi away. Yoroi smirked nastily at Sasuke. Not that Sasuke could see it with Yoroi’s mask. “I’ll end this!” Yoroi yelled spinning around and lunging for Sasuke again. 

Sasuke leaped into the air and sent a barrage of shuriken at Yoroi. 

“Useless!” Yoroi declared dodging to the side. 

Sauske landed on the ground and smirked. He flipped through hand signs one more time and channeled a stream of concentrated electricity through his ninja wire. The shuriken that Yoroi had ignored had wire tied to them subtly entangling Yoroi. 

Yoroi screamed as he was electrocuted. He fell to the floor twitching. Sasuke turned away from him but Hayate didn’t end the match just ye A hush fell across the room as Yoroi shakily stood once again. 

“You’ll pay for that brat! Don’t underestimate me!” He screamed as he charged Sasuke again and grabbed him by the head. Sasuke gasped and began wilting in Yoroi’s grip. Yoroi slowly siphoned energy from Sasuke, adding to his own reserves while draining Sasuke’s. 

“Come on Sasuke! You can do it!” Kiba shouted from beside Lee.

Sasuke glanced in Kiba’s direction briefly, then his eyes widened. He knocked away Yoroi’s arm with a punch and disappeared from Yoroi’s field of vision. 

Sasuke dropped and delivered a high kick to the bottom of Yoroi’s chin, lifting him up into the air. Sasuke leaped up into the air as well, aligning his body so that it was parallel to Yoroi. 

Several audience members gasped, that was the Goken style of taijutsu and shadow of the dancing leaf! When did Sasuke manage to learn that? 

Sasuke poked Yoroi’s back with two fingers. “Its over.” He said. Sasuke then twisted in mid air and delivered a devastating spinning kick that Yoroi barely managed to block. 

“Stupid amateur!” Shouted Yoroi angrily. 

But Sasuke wasn't done yet. He twisted in the air once again, hitting Yoroi with his arm, and then with another devastating kick that sent Yoroi crashing into the ground. 

Sasuke tumbled to the ground next to Yoroi panting. Hayate walked over to Yoroi and examined him for a short moment before he announced, “I’m halting this match before it goes any further! Uchiha Sasuke is the winner of the first battle and advances past the preliminaries to the next level!” 

Sasuke sat up breathing heavily and deactivated his Sharingan, he tried to stand but fell backward. He didn’t fall far; he found himself supported by Kakashi’s knee. 

“Well done!” Kakashi said, nose deep in his Icha Icha book. 

The medical corps nin came and carried Yoroi away on a stretcher. Sasuke politely declined their requests to go with them as he wanted to observe the rest of the matches. 

Kakashi supported him as they walked back to the stands. 

‘ _ Hmm… I wonder how he would have won if he hadn't fought Lee… ‘  _ Minato thought. ‘ _ This boy is really growing frighteningly fast. The Sharingan is truly not to be underestimated.’  _ He nodded approvingly to Sasuke as the boy came to stand beside him. 

“Yeah thats what I’m talking about Sasuke! But you’re so beat up for someone who won, hahah!” Kiba laughed. Akamaru barked in congratulations from inside his coat and received a pat on the head in return. 

The electronic scoreboard spun again, Landing on Zaku Abumi and Aburame Shino. 

Zaku was the Sound genin who wore the shirt with the kanji for ‘death’ on it. He had holes in his hands that he used to fire high pressure blasts of wind that could slice through stone. 

Shino on the other hand was an Aburame who used the bugs living inside of his body as weapons. 

The match was short lived. Zaku used both of his arms to fire continuous blasts of wind at Shino while Shino made clever use of his bug clones to distract and harass his opponent. The match ended when Zaku blew one of his arms off as a result of the holes in his palms being blocked by Shino’s bugs. The wind that Zaku expelled through his hands built up in his arms, and under pressure, exploded his arms causing grievous injury. 

Naruto and Hinata congratulated the boy as he walked back up to the stands while everyone else received the boy with a wary silence. 

The Sound Jounin smirked and vanished in a shunshin. Instantly all Konoha Jounin were on alert. The Hokage subtly nodded at Kakashi and Kakashi disappeared with a quick, “Be right back.” to his students. Naruto’s face became grim as his teacher went off to detain Orochimaru. 

Hayate coughed and everyone gave their attention to the scoreboard once again. The names that came up were Nara Shikamaru and Tsuchi Kin the Sound kunoichi.

Outside of the Stadium Orochimaru had been surrounded by Konoha ANBU. Kakashi arrived at the showdown and Orochimaru smiled grimly, “I see you have mastered the sealing arts Kakashi. How exactly were you able to fully seal away my little present?” Orochimaru spat bitterly. 

Kakashi opted to ignore the fact that it had been his student that performed the sealing. “What do you want with the Uchiha?” He demanded. 

Orochimaru snickered, “Oh you know. You have it. They have it. I want it. You’ve had it for a very long time yourself now haven’t you?” 

Kakshi shifted into a combat stance, “The Sharingan…” He whispered. “So it's just your greed and delusions of grandeur.” He concluded. 

“Well I suppose you could say that...”

“Stay away from the Uchiha” Kakashi said, putting his right hand down and charging crackling electricity though his hand. “Even if you are one of the great Sannin. I can take you with me to death! ANBU with me!” Kakashi and the surrounding ANBU leaped simultaneously at Orochimaru, the man cackled and lashed out with a sword hidden in his throat. Several unfortunate ANBU were bisected and the Sannin leapt up and flashed through hand signs. A huge snake was summoned into existence and began to thrash around, taking out the numerous ANBU. Kakashi charged with a Chidori and gouged out the snake’s throat in a spray of blood. The snake fell in a great thump and exploded into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke had dissipated Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen. 

“Damn! Quickly secure the exits he can’t have gone far!” Kakashi yelled. The ANBU scattered and raced to find Orochimaru but it was for naught. The man was long gone, leaving a trail of dead and dying ANBU behind him. 

Kakashi was forced to return to the arena empty handed. He delivered a series of hand signals to the Hokage informing him of the incident. The Hokage sighed deeply as he read the quick signs Kakashi flashed him. 

Shikamaru strutted back up the stairs to the spectator railings. It had been an easy fight for him. Just a bit of maneuvering of the enemy and he had won with a simple back bend. 

The scoreboard spun again as Ino and Choji congratulated Shikamaru. Soon the names called were Kinuta Dosu and Haruno Sakura. 

Sakura made a valiant effort in the battle. It was clear to Minato that she had started to take her training seriously while in team Kurenai. It seemed that her fangirling had finally been used to motivate her to become stronger in order to be able to stand side by side with Sasuke. She made prodigious use of several complicated genjutsu but unfortunately for her, it was a bad match up. Dosu didn’t need to see her to attack her. He simply swung at the air and let his vibration based attack target her ears and take her down. 

Hayate declared Dosu the winner after Sakura had collapsed on the floor vomiting uncontrollably and then failed to stand since her balance was ruined. 

The scoreboard spun onwards. Rock Lee and Kankuro were called up next. 

Minato felt for Kankuro. This wasn’t a good match up either. Kankuro had maintained a facade of taking Lee on with hand to hand combat before his head was caved in with a sharp kick. Revealing that the Kankuro that Lee had been fighting was a puppet. Kankuro climbed out of the bandage wrapped bundle on the puppet’s back and began attacking Lee in earnest. The puppet danced and swung between Lee’s swift attacks while wildly slashing with poison coated blades. Hidden compartments loaded with positioned senbon popped open and sprayed at Lee. Lee was able to dodge the weapon sprays easily due to training with a budding weapons mistress constantly. He used his superior speed to rush past the puppet and engage the real Kankuro in a one sided taijutsu match. Kankuro was left unconscious on the floor after a brutal round of kicks to the face, rearranging his facial structure slightly. Well… It was nothing a med nin couldn’t fix Minato thought, pitying the boy. 

And so the board spun. Soon Yamanaka Ino and Tenten were called down to fight. 

From the very onset of the match Tenten dominated the arena with a never ending salvo of thrown weapons. Ino had been hard pressed to defend and deflect. Every passing second left another cut or nick on her body from a projectile that was too fast for her to avoid. Ino threw a dramatic temper tantrum and attempted to get in close to Tenten and go hand to hand. Ino cut her hair and threw it in the air and tried to set up a trap for Tenten. Tenten had simply ignored Ino’s stalling and rushed her with a bo staff. Tenten was able to easily knock Ino out with a sharp crack to the back of the head. 

Hayate coughed. The board spun. Gaara and Temari were called down to fight. 

The fight was nonexistent. Temari forfeited the instant she read her name off the board. She stoically ignored the round of boos from Kiba and Choji as she shivered. Gaara was staring at her with a blank expression, he had been getting more and more riled up as the fights went on and now he wouldn’t even be able to fight in the preliminaries. Minato winced from the sheer amount of bloodlust that was pouring off the boy. It was nearing the levels of bloodlust he had felt on the night of the Kyuubi attack. Kurama protested furiously in his mind. He was so much more bloodthirsty compared to that little brat and his pet sand raccoon! Minato chuckled nervously in his mind. 

The board spun and spun. Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji were chosen. 

The fight was a battle of doujutsu. Hinata truly tried her best in the battle. Neji had kicked off the fight with a truly disparaging round of insults that made Minato frown disapprovingly. He knew about the situation between the branch family and the head family of the Hyuga, but to see that it had negatively affected the children so much… Had his old friend Hiashi changed so much that he would widen the divide of the Hyuga? Speaking of Hiashi, he hadn’t sensed Hizashi in years. Was the man still alive? 

Sakura cheered desperately for Hinata, reminding Hinata of the times they spent training together to impress their crushes. Hinata wanted to change for Naruto. she wanted to be able to stand next to him. So she got up and faced Neji with determined eyes despite his systematic dissection of her timid behavior. She put up an admirable fight. She pushed Neji hard but Neji showed off why he was regarded as a genius within the Hyuga clan. Neji, unlike many other Hyuga, was capable of seeing the small tenketsu in a person’s chakra network. He had targeted the tenketsu in Hinata’s arms and made her juuken useless by shutting down the chakra network in her arms. 

Hinata thoroughly impressed Naruto with her dogged determination to continue fighting even after her attacks had been rendered useless. She didn’t give up once, even against the face of an overwhelming skill gap. He nearly jumped in to hold Neji back along with the other Jounin when Neji ran in for the killing blow on Hinata. Neji had thrown a fit, asking if this was further favoritism for the main family when Sakura told him to shut up. Neji scoffed. Another loser couldn't tell him what to do. Minato frowned determinedly, he couldn't let this fate obsessed mindset go. It would only hamper Neji’s promising future. But just how could he beat it out of the boy? Literally beat him up? But just how would that prove anything? 

Minato settled back to think on the issue as Hayate called Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Choji down to fight. 

The battle between Choji and Kiba was like watching two spinning tops clash against each other. Choji used his Akimichi family techniques to enlarge his body and roll into enemies, literally flattening them. Kiba and Akamaru used their Gatsuga like a high speed drill to crush his enemies. While Choji was much slower compared to Kiba, he was much more tankier and could take more hits. 

These two forces clashing against each other sent plenty of debris flying about the arena. Kiba soon changed tactics when he realized that his drilling technique didn’t work against Choji’s heavily cushioned body. Kiba began to use his earth clone jutsu in an attempt to try and overwhelm Choji with numbers. Except Choji rolled through Kiba’s clones with a bowling ball. Eventually Kiba had to resort to a new jutsu he had developed as a secret against his teammates to corner Choji and force him to concede. Kiba covered the arena floor in dangerously hardened earth spikes and forced Choji into a corner, literally. Choji tired to use his body expansion jutsu to crush the spikes but it seemed Kiba’s mud hardening exercises had finally paid off. the spikes were too difficult to destroy and Choji was hungry. So the boy conceded. 

Choji’s team facepalmed when they heard his lackluster excuse. Kiba crowed in victory, Naruto patted him on the back, and Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement. 

Finally it was Naruto’s turn. He was up against one Tsurugi Misumi. Who was another one of Kabuto’s teammates. The man was dressed similarly to Yoroi and had the same veil over his face, the only difference was that the man wore round glasses like Kabuto. 

“Final match between Uzumaki Naruto and Tsurugi Misumi! Start!” Hayate called. 

The Genin rushed at Naruto and threw a straight forward punch. Naruto blocked the punch but Misuimi’s arm contorted around his limb and quickly wrapped around him. Misumi followed up by wrapping his entire body around Naruto unnaturally, immobilizing Naruto.

“I can dislocate every joint and manipulate my limp body by chakra alone! I can keep on squeezing and constricting until your bones crack! The longer you wait to surrender the tighter I’ll squeeze! I don’t know what you may be capable of but once your body is helpless in my hands it doesn’t matter. If you give the slightest hint of trying anything… Then ill snap your neck like a twig!” Misumi declared. 

Luckily for Naruto, he had long mastered the sealless kawarimi and shadow clone jutsus. He was able to smoothly replace himself with no one any wiser. 

“Squeeze away.” His clone said in a bored tone of voice. 

Misumi grew a tick mark and squeezed.

The clone exploded in a large burst of chakra and sent Misumi flying. The man hit the wall with a crack and fell to the floor unconscious. 

Naruto was thankful Itachi had decided to teach him the great clone explosion. It was such a useful technique considering that he could create as many shadow clones as he wanted. 

And thus the preliminaries had ended. The winners of the matches were lined up in front of the Hokage and various Jounin to hear about the next phase of the exam. 

“To those of you who won your matches and qualified for the finals of the third phase of the Chuunin exams. Congratulations!” Hayate turned to the Hokage. “Uh… Hokage-sama , they're all yours.” 

“Yes…” The Hokage adjusted his hat. “Well then starting now, I shall begin explaining the finals. As I mentioned earlier, you will conduct your finals in front of everyone. Each of you represents the battle strengths of your respective lands. So we want you to exhibit and fully showcase your various talents. And thus the finals… Will commence one month from now!” 

Kiba raised his hand, “Wait. we’re not doing this right now?” 

“We call this the requisite preparation period.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Neji. 

“Well…” the Hokage began. “It's a period of time that allows us to relay the results of the preliminaries to the rulers and Shinobi leaders of each land and summon them to the finals. It also serves as a preparation period for you applicants.” 

“I still don't get it! But it sounds youthful!” Lee declared. 

“You must prepare to understand your enemy and understand yourself. During this period you can analyze the intelligence you have gathered on your foes during the preliminaries. And use it to increase your chances of victory. Even though up to this point all battles have been real battles… they were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an ‘unknown enemy’. However the finals are a different story. Some of you probably ended up exposing everything you’ve got in front of your rivals. In order to make the finals fair and just, we give you this month. Each of you must take advantage of the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. And of course get some rest as well! 

Anko standing beside the Hokage brought out a small box with a hole cut in the top. ”Everyone please take only one slip of paper.” She said.

Anko walked down the line of Genin with the box and each of them took a slip. 

“Ten,” Gaara started.

“Nine…” Said Dosu. 

“Three.” Shikamaru drawled. 

“Five.” Stated Shino.

“Two.” Neji Deadpanned.

“Six.” Chirped Tenten. 

“Four!” Shouted Lee. 

“One.” Naruto said.

“Seven.” Kiba barked.

“Eight.” Sasuke replied. 

The Hokage puffed on his pipe. “Good. Now I will reveal the match order for the tournament style finals!” 

“So that’s what the drawing was for?” Shikamaru asked. 

“Yes. Now then, Ibiki please show them the brackets.” 

“Yes sir.” Ibiki turned the clipboard he had been writing on around and showed the Genin the match ups. 

Round one was Naruto versus Neji. Round two was Lee versus Shino. Round three was Kiba versus Sasuke. Round four was Dosu versus Gaara. Round five would be the winner of round one versus Shikamaru. And finally round six would be the winner of round two versus Tenten. 

‘ _ Hoh. The Hyuga immediately and an extra fight huh?’  _ Minato thought. 

“Now then… it's time for you to plan your strategies, rest up, or whatever you please. We’re all finished here unless any of you have questions.” 

Shikamaru raised his hand and asked, “May I?”

“Sure.”

“You said this is a tournament, So… There’s only one winner right? Then does that mean only one person gets to become Chuunin?”

“No. For the finals you will be observed by many judges including me, the Kazekage, the Daimyos, and those requesting missions. Based on your performance in the tournament those judges will assign you an absolute value. And all those who have been deemed to have sufficient ability to become a Chuunin... Even those who may have lost. In the first round… Can become Chuunin.”

“So it’s possible that all of us can become Chuunin then?” Kiba asked.

“Yes. However it is also possible that none of you will become Chuunin. The advantage of fighting in more rounds in the tournament is in having a greater number of opportunities to display talents for the judges.” The Hokage turned to Shikamaru. “Does that answer your question Shikamaru?” 

“Yosh! Kakashi! It appears that all of our youthful students have made it into the finals! How wonderful! Unfortunately it seems two of your students must face off against each other right off the bat! Otherwise I would have a competition with you on how far our students get!” Guy shouted with a youthful fire burning in his eyes. 

“Maa… Don’t be so hasty Guy. We can still have that competition. I’ll be betting on my students after all.” 

“Very well then! I too shall bet! Watch out Kakashi! I swear my cute students will knock yours out of the park!”

“Mmm… You don’t know that yet. Who knows. My students may surprise you after all…”

“We shall see!”

The Hokage coughed, “Well then, good work all! You are dismissed until one month from now!”

The genin nodded resolutely and began to leave. Though Naruto lingered behind to talk to the Hokage. He waited for the rest of the genin to disperse before approaching the Hokage. 

“Hm, Naruto? What is it?” The Hokage asked.

“I wanted to talk with you privately for a while.”

“Of course, come let us go to my office.” 

Naruto followed the Hokage to an underground passage beneath the forest of death from the tower to outside the fences of the forest. They then quickly traveled to the Hokage tower and sat down in the old man’s office. 

“I just wanted to know what happened with Orochimaru and inform you that Gaara is Suna’s Jinchurriki.” Naruto said as he sat down in a chair. 

The Hokage sighed deeply and took a puff of his pipe, “Ah yes… Danzo informed me of the Jinchuuriki problem, he believes we should begin training ours in the use of their Bijuu,” the Hokage said with a pointed look at Naruto. Naruto nodded and mentally prodded Kurama who snarled at him. 

“ **As if you would lose to that damned Tanuki. Of course they want my power. Filthy humans”**

Naruto smiled awkwardly was that praise from Kurama? 

“And what about Orochimaru?” 

“Unfortunately he escaped… We discovered that Kabuto was his spy after all. Good work in these Chuunin exams Naruto. No matter what happens in the third exam you have already achieved the qualifications of Chuunin for discovering Orochimaru and his spy.” 

“Ah thank you very much, Hokage-sama.” Naruto bowed his head slightly to the Hokage. 

“If that is all then?”

“Yes. Thank you for having me old man.” 

“Haha, yes, good luck in your training Naruto.” 

“Thanks.” 


	28. Hot Spring Days

“Hey Naruto. I thought I’d find you here.” Kakashi said stepping into Ichiraku’s. 

“Huh? What's up Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked, slurping up a mouthful of ramen. Kakashi had caught him on his indulgence day where he treated himself to a few bowls of Ichiraku ramen. He didn’t have them often, only once every other week depending on how his training was going. 

“Maa… Just checking up on my cute little students.”

“Oh. Well, okay.” Naruto swallowed another bite. “I’m doing fine Sensei thanks for checking in.” 

Kakashi sat down at the stand besides Naruto and ordered a bowl of pork ramen. “Do you have any plans for training just yet? I can help find you a teacher if you need one. You haven’t come to me for help yet, I’m a bit worried for my pocket change.”

“Oh! Thank you for the offer sensei but I’m fine. I plan on asking the Hokage to let me out of the village on a training trip. I’m taking it easy for a day before I officially begin my training.” 

“Aah. That's a good idea. I’m training Sasuke right now and Kiba has gone to his mother.” Naruto winced. He prayed for Kiba’s survival. “So you better not fall behind. Oh and if your relaxing today maybe visit the hot springs today. I hear the waters great.” 

“Alright, I’ll do that. And I’ll be sure not to fall behind. Thanks Sensei.” 

“Mm.”

The duo ate slowly in content silence, well Naruto did. Kakashi’s food simply appeared to disappear between blinks. 

“Hey Naruto.” Kakashi suddenly said. 

“Hm?”

“You know that the Rasengan isn’t a completed jutsu just yet, right?” 

“Huh? Oh. Yeah of course. The notes mentioned wanting to add a chakra nature to the jutsu.”

“Aah. Good good so you know. Maybe you can complete what your father never managed to do. I believe in you.” 

Slightly touched Naruto blushed, “O-oh. Thank you Kakashi-sensei.”

Kakashi patted Naruto on the head and in a flash the rest of his ramen vanished. The man then left to do who knows what. Leaving Naruto with the bill. 

Minato grew a tick mark. Damned Kakashi still hadn’t changed that annoying habit of his. 

  
  


Naruto left the ramen stand soon after and meandered his way over to the hot springs district of Konoha. 

When he had reached the hot springs he found a painfully familiar sight waiting there for him. A man with long white shaggy hair dressed in a red haori and green clothes was giggling perversely as he peeped through the wooden walls at the women’s bath. The man had streaks of red running form the corner of his eyes down to his chin and he was busy taking notes as he peeked. 

It was Jiraiya. His old mentor. His son’s Godfather. 

The man was subtly channeling nature chakra so Minato hadn’t sensed him before arriving at the hot springs. 

A white hot flash of rage surged through Minato’s body as he watched his former Sensei chuckle to himself. He simply couldn't find the words to express his anger at the moment. 

Unbeknownst to Minato, his whisker marks had begun to darken and his bright blue eyes became slitted. Kurama perked up inside of the seal. He was guaranteed a show with the storm of emotions Minato was currently experiencing. 

Minato stormed up to the wall and yelled over it, “Help! There’s a pervert out here!” 

Immediately there were screams and shouts from the woman’s side of the bath. 

Several angry Kunoichi stormed out in towels with kunai knives and buckets held threateningly in their hands. 

Jiraya gaped wide eyed at Naruto for a precious second before screaming like a girl and running for his life. The angry Kunoichi chased after him quickly throwing all manners of projectiles, ranging from bars of soap to actual weapons, at him. 

Minato unconsciously growled as he watched the man run for his life. The Kyuubi howled in laughter at watching the man run wildly. In Minato’s memories the man had always been painted in a positive light no matter what. It was only until Jiraiya had abandoned Naruto to the village that Minato began to critically inspect his teacher’s actions.

Minato was guilty of always thinking the best of Jiraiya and often justified his actions in a positive way. But no longer. Jiraiya had his faults and didn't deserve to be called a teacher. In fact Jiraiya’s teaching techniques were extremely lackluster now that Minato thought about it. Jiraiya would often throw a jutsu at Minato and then expect the young man to have learned the technique without assistance. Sometimes the man would offer helpful tips but those instances were few and far between. 

But the most painful thing to Minato, was that Jiraiya had treated him well. The man had been like a father to him. They had been extremely close. There were many things that Jiraiya had done for Minato without Minato asking him to do so. Jiraiya was a good man. But he had also abandoned Minato’s sole request to take care of his son for nearly thirteen years. And now he was back in Konoha and merely indulging his lust. 

Minato huffed. He really needed a relaxing bath. He entered the locker rooms and took off his clothes. Sighing as he washed his body he considered what Jiraiya was doing back in Konoha. Perhaps he had heard of Orochimaru’s meddling and was here to help? It was also equally as likely that the man had wandered back in search of a set of hot springs to peep at. 

He was lucky that the hot springs were empty of people. He entered the bath and sighed, relaxing. He closed his eyes and fell into a light meditative state. It was not time for negative thoughts. It was time to relax before he began training. He briefly popped into his mindscape to wave ‘hi’ at Kurama. Kurama simply waved a lazy tail at him and started napping on a comfortable patch of grass. 

“Hey kid! What the hell was that for!?” A familiar yet obnoxious voice interrupted his silent relaxation. 

Naruto’s eyes snapped open. He turned towards the voice and found Jiraiya fully clothed and crouched at the edge of the hot springs with a pinched expression on his face. 

“Don’t you know you’ve interrupted the great research of a famous author?”

Minato sat in the springs and considered all the things he could say. His anger had just returned two fold.he gritted his teeth, “Just who the hell do you think you are?” He ground out. 

“Me? Good question!” The man said jovially. “I am the great Sage of the Mount Myoboku toads, otherwise known as the Toad sage! Pleased to meet you!” He declared striking a dramatic kabuki pose. 

“No.” Minato slashed a hand through the air and splashing the water. “What I mean is. Who the hell do you think you are. Godfather?” 

The jolly man sobered instantly. “How did you know?” He asked quietly. 

“My father left notes.” Minato spat. And he had. It was one of the happier days of his life, asking his Sensei to be his son’s godfather. “You abandoned me to this village and didn't bother checking in on me for nearly thirteen years.” 

Minato angrily climbed out of the hot springs and went to dry off and put his clothes back on. He was disgusted by Jiraiya. He couldn’t stand the sight of him. 

Jiraiya silently followed him out of the hot springs as he left to go back home. 

Naruto turned to Jiraiya in an empty alley, “Stop following me. Don’t act like you care after all these years.” 

“Look kid. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t take care of a child and manage my spy network at the same time…” 

“Then why did you accept the responsibility of Godfather? Why did you say you would be there when you knew you couldn’t and wouldn’t do it!?” Minato angrily yelled. 

Jiraiya looked crushed. “I… I thought…” He lowered his head. 

“You thought? You thought my parents were immortal? That there was no chance of danger in the life of a Shinobi?!” Naruto roared. 

Jiraiya raise his head and reached a hand out to Naruto, “Kid… I’m sorry…” 

“NO!” Minato’s eyes became slitted again. “Sorry isn’t enough! You left me! You left me to an abusive village for thirteen years! In fact I bet you didn’t even come back to help with the Orochimaru situation! I bet you came back to do more of your useless degrading research!” 

“Kid…”

“I have a name. A name that  _ you  _ came up with.” 

“Naruto… I’m so sorry. What do you mean by abusive village? The Sandaime said you were fine whenever I asked about you…” 

Minato scoffed. “Feh. The village hates me for what I hold. They believe me to be the incarnation of the Kyuubi.”

Jiraiya looked as if he had been slapped in the face. “What?” 

Minato turned away from the man and continued his angry march home. 

“Naruto wait up! What do you mean?”

Minato ignored him and kept walking. He ignored the man’s confused questions all the way until he reached his house. 

Reaching home he slammed the door in Jiraiya’s face. Cutting off the man’s hurried attempts to get him to wait. 

Minato leaned against the door and slid down to a sitting position. He put his head between his knees as he listened to Jiraiya slowly give up and leave. 

The man would most likely have left to confront the Sandaime over Naruto’s treatment from the villagers. 

Minato leaned back and let the back of his head thunk against the door. He sighed. He wouldn’t forgive Jiraiya so easily with just empty words and meaningless promises. 

He pushed himself up off the floor and stood. He walked by the mirror in the hall when he stopped abruptly. Minato carefully inspected his features in the mirror. He had been unconsciously channeling Kurama’s chakra apparently. He had originally designed the eight trigrams seal used to seal the Kyuubi to allow some of the Kyuubi’s chakra to seep into Naruto's body over time. This was quite the surprising effect. 

He poked at his pronounced whisker marks. ‘ _ Hey Kurama… does your chakra enhance my physical abilities when I’m angry?’  _

**“Hmph. I suppose since you are rarely heavily emotional you haven’t noticed before. But yes.”**

_ ‘I see… I suppose you would mind if I took your chakra without permission then?’  _

**“...Yes I would mind. Kushina and Mito never asked before…”**

_ ‘Well then. I promise to ask before I use any of your power. Though I know you would rather not have your power wielded by a human. I promise to only use it when protecting something dear to me.’  _

**“I suppose that is acceptable to me…”**

_ ‘Thank you very much for your kindness Kurama.’  _

**“Hmph.”**

Minato smiled softly. The Kyuubi had softened up considerably ever since he had changed his mindscape. He felt like he was getting to know the Kyuubi better than ever. It was truly an honor being the host of a Biju. They were fonts of wisdom and snarky comments. 

  
  


The next day Naruto visited the Sandaime’s office to request leave of the village in order to train. 

“Hey Old man.”

The Sandaime looked up from his paperwork, “Oh, hello Naruto what brings you to my office today?” 

“I came here to ask if I could leave the village for a month to train for the Chuunin exams.” 

“May I ask why exactly you need to leave the village to train?” 

“I plan to visit Uzushio and see if I can learn anything from the ruins or find scrolls on fuinjutsu.” 

“I see… Unfortunately the island is cursed and surrounded by a constantly regenerating barrier. During the war the Uzumaki summoned the Shinigami, their guardian deity, to kill everyone on the island so that their secrets would never be lost. As the people of longevity, they worshiped the Shinigami himself. Anyone not of Uzumaki blood that tries to step foot on the island is instantly struck down by unexplained forces.” 

Naruto stared at the old man quietly. The old man stared back. A few seconds passed before the Sandaime slapped himself in the face. 

“Of course. Who am I talking to.” The Sandaime sighed, he was getting old. “Even so. I cannot let you out of the village right now, Naruto. The situation with Orochimaru is serious and we can’t afford to have the village without a Jinchuuriki.” 

“Of course…” Mianto thought for a bit. “What if I left a long lasting shadow clone behind? I could also bring back valuable fuinjutsu to strengthen the Konoha barrier since Orochimaru seems to be easily circumventing it.” 

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, “How long would this shadow clone of yours last and what would its capabilities be? For that matter how would you make it so that it could last a month?”

“I have a seal that is designed to store chakra and strengthen the durability of a shadow clone. I can apply it to a shadow clone and it will have the same abilities as me and will last a month.”

The Sandaime huffed out a breath. “Remarkable... Just how far have you progressed in sealing Naruto?”

“Far enough that the resources at my home and in the Konoha Archives can no longer help me.” 

“All on your own as well. Amazing work Naruto. You may have even surpassed your father's prowess. May I have a few of these tags to examine?” 

Minato chuckled awkwardly. “Of course.” 

“Very well then. I give you my permission to leave the village so long as you create a shadow clone to take your place. Now leave so that I can tackle this.” The old man gestured to the mountains of paperwork piled on his desk.

Minato tilted his head slightly. “Old man you do know you could have been using shadow clones for your paperwork right?” 

The man lowered his head. The office was silent for a few minutes as Naruto nervously assessed the Hokage. Suddenly the Hokage started cackling wildly. 

“So that’s how Minato did it! Thank you my boy! You’ve solved a decades old problem for this old man!” The old Kage stood and hugged Naruto fiercely. 

Naruto laughed and patted the old man’s back fondly. “Alright Old man that enough. I’ve gotta go say goodbye to my friends.” 

The Hokage let go of Naruto and formed two shadow clones immediately. The clones glared at him but began to sort through the paperwork on the Hokage’s desk. Naruto giggled and left as the old man crossed his arms proudly and watched the shadow clones work. 

Naruto first visited the Inuzuka compound to tell Kiba he would be gone for a month. He knocked on the door to Kiba’s house and was greeted by Tsume. 

“Ah Tsume-san, hello. I am here for Kiba.” 

Tsume crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway casually. “The brat is training with Akamaru, he can’t be disturbed right now. I’ll take a message for him.” 

“Ah I see. Then please tell him I will be leaving for a month for training. Oh and tell him I told him good luck with his training.”

“Hmm… you too brat.” Tsume ruffled his hair roughly, “You might even face my Kiba in the tournament so do your best!” 

Minato straightened his hair and said, “Thanks Tsume-san.” 

He left the Inuzuka compound for the Uchiha compound. 

When he arrived at the Uchiha clan head’s house he heard loud voices coming from inside of it. It sounded as if people were arguing furiously. 

He hesitantly knocked on the door to the house. Izumi opened the door with an awkward expression. She looked much better now that the curse mark was sealed but she was still paler than normal from dealing with its effects. 

“Hello Izumi, may I come in and speak with Sasuke?” 

“Ah Naruto! Thank you so much for sealing the marks away for us and well… Maybe you should come in and try to talk with Yamada…” 

“Huh?” 

“Just come in Naruto…”

“Oh! Um. Okay.” 

Naruto walked into the Uchiha household and followed Izumi to the living room where the shouting was coming from. 

“Don't you see!? He can give us the power to kill Itachi!”

“He killed our family Yamada!”

“They were weak anyways. What does it matter if Orochimaru is offering us the chance to kill Itachi!?” 

“You can’t go to him you’d be deserting Konoha!”

“No I wouldn’t! I’d come back as soon as I killed Itachi! Besides! It wouldn’t matter anyways! As soon as I’ve killed Itachi, Konoha would welcome me back with open arms!”

“You don’t even know what he wants from us and you’re going to go to him willingly?!” 

“He’s giving us the chance to kill Itachi!”

“Think about this a little more Yamada it's suspicious!”

“It's more than you’ve done to kill Itachi!”

“Yamada!” 

“What’s going on here?” Naruto interrupted. 

“Naruto!”

“Naruto-san!”

Yamada rushed up to Naruto, “Naruto-san! Please remove your seal! The mark gives me power!”

“Wh-what?” Naruto stuttered. What he had heard was pretty worrying. Was Yamada really planning on deserting for the sake of killing Itachi? 

“Please!”

“Yamada! Calm down!” Izumi yelled. 

Yamada turned to Izumi pleadingly. “But he’s the one who sealed the mark! He can take it off then!”

“Yamada. I won’t remove the seal. The mark is bad for you. There is a portion of Orochimaru’s soul in the seal that will constantly exert its influence over your mind. You’re not thinking straight right now.” Naruto said firmly. 

“I am thinking straight! Haruka, Izuru, and Haruto agree with me!” 

“Then you’re all not thinking straight!” Sasuke shouted. “That man killed our family! There’s no telling what he’ll do to you!” 

Yamada whipped toward Sasuke. “You don't understand! We have to kill Itachi!”

“I do understand! There's something strange about that night though! Itachi wouldn’t have done that without a reason!” 

“Whatever! It doesn’t change the fact that he killed everyone!”

“Enough!” Naruto snapped. 

Both boys stopped arguing to stare at Naruto. Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Yamada. I need to check your seal. You’ve never mentioned anything close to this subject. What did Orochimaru tell you?” 

“Take the seal off then! He just said that he could help us if we needed power! And we do!” Yamada said frantically. 

Naruto motioned to Sasuke and Sasuke grabbed the boy and held him still in front of Naruto. Naruto inspected the seal closely. He frowned deeply. Someone had tampered with the seal holding back the curse mark. Thankfully they hadn’t been able to remove it completely but it had been weakened considerably. Who could have done such a thing and when? The Uchiha were constantly being guarded by the ANBU now. 

Was there a traitor somewhere? Suddenly a thought hit Minato. 

Back when the Sound nin had tried kidnapping Sasuke the first time. They had been lured into a trap by one of Danzo’s lackies. Could it be? Was Danzo still supporting Orochimaru? Was this how he so easily escaped and entered the village? 

“Izumi, bring Haruka, Izuru, and Haruto here. I need to see their seals. Someone has tampered with Yamada’s seal.” Naruto said. “Sasuke keep holding him down. I don't think he’ll like it if I fix the seal.” 

Yamada began struggling in Sasuke’s grip as Naruto took out his sealing supplies. Drawing delicate symbols on a moving person was a difficult job but Minato managed. He resealed the curse mark and the boy fell limp in Sasuke’s grasp. 

“What’s going on here?” Asked Izuru walking around the corner. He looked down at the unconscious Yamada and frowned. “Was that really necessary? He’s only speaking the truth…” 

Sasuke tackled the boy. “Naruto now!” 

“H-hey! Sasuke what the heck!?” 

Naruto hurried over and began drawing symbols on the thrashing boy. 

“NO! Stop it! Don’t take it away!” Izuru shouted. 

Minato and Sasuke stoically ignored the boy’s shouts and successfully resealed the curse mark. 

Then they went and found Haruka and Haruto. The two were quietly discussing the best way to sneak out of the village and were easily caught off guard. Naruto discovered that their seals had been tampered with as well but their seals hadn’t been as degraded as Yamada’s

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other uneasily over the unconscious bodies of the Uchiha members. They lifted the unconscious children and took them to their rooms to rest. 

Naruto sighed as he placed Haruka on her bed. He wondered how Orochimaru had gotten to her. She was too young to know what it meant to have a large clan like the Uchiha. To think that her hate of Itachi was so strong despite never knowing a clan… Perhaps she had seen how sad the other Uchiha were whenever the topic was brought up. She was a kind girl after all. 

He left the room and closed the door behind him. Sasuke was waiting out in the hall for him. 

“Thanks Naruto… I don’t know what’s gotten into them all of a sudden.” Said Sasuke. 

“No problem Sasuke. Report to the Hokage that someone tampered with their seals would you? I have a suspicion of who did it but I can’t be sure…” 

“Who?”

“The same man who may have tried to arrange your kidnapping in our fourth year.” 

“What? Who then!? Give me a name Naruto!”

“I can’t it's too dangerous Sasuke. Bring up the possibility of a traitor in Konoha to the Sandaime will you?” 

Sasuke charged forwards and grabbed Naruto by the collar pinning him against the wall. “This is serious Naruto! Its my family we’re talking about here! Why can’t you tell me?!” 

Naruto stared calmly into Sasuke’s eyes. “Because all I have are suspicions and theories. Nothing concrete that would be able to accomplish anything. The Sandaime won’t act without proof. If i rashly give you a name I could be putting you into further danger. I don't want to endanger my friends Sasuke.” 

Sasuke slumped and let go of Naruto’s collar. “You can’t keep us safe forever…” He lowered his head, “Why does this keep happening to me Naruto?” 

Naruto looked down sadly, “I don’t know Sasuke. I’m sorry.” 

Sasuke swiped a hand over his eyes and raised his head to look at Naruto again. “So what did you come here for?” He asked quietly. 

“Ah… I came to tell you that I’ll be leaving for a training trip to outside of the village for the rest of this month. If you need me I’ll be leaving a shadow clone behind in my place.” 

“Oh I see. Good luck on your training Naruto.” 

“Thanks Sasuke, you as well. Kakashi can be a real slave driver sometimes.” 

Sasuke nodded at Naruto and bid him goodbye. Naruto left the Uchiha compound full of worrying thoughts. He hoped that this was the right choice leaving to visit Uzushio. 


	29. Whirlpool Days

Naruto slapped a seal tag on the back of the neck of his shadow clone. 

“Remember to stay out of sight when training. Try doing our wind nature to the Rasengan okay? I’ll work on it more when I get back. I don't expect you will have completed the jutsu by the time I get back though.” 

The clone nodded back at him, “Understood.” 

Minato nodded and picked up his pack from the floor and set out. He checked out at the village gates and began walking down the road in the direction of Wave. 

Because he was aware of it now, he soon felt a nature chakra saturated individual following him from a distance. 

Naruto sighed and released his resistance seals with a thought. He crouched down on the road and then took off in a shunpo. 

He felt Jiraiya’s shock as he raced off. The man began to quickly follow. 

Minato sensed the man speed up and try to catch up to him. Minato in turn began to link his shunpos until the surroundings blurred past him in a mass of green and brown. Soon Jiraiya was left in the dust trying to see where Naruto had gone off to. 

Jiraiya stared off into the distance in shock as Naruto disappeared. The kid just outran him.  _ Him _ ! The great Toad Sage! One of the Sannin! What kind of speed was he cultivating? And was he really that adverse to him to run away with all his might? Jiraiya had wanted to apologize and offer training for the Chuunin exams to make up for the time he had missed. The Sandaime had also asked him to keep an eye on Naruto. But now he wasn’t sure if he could even do that… Jiraiya wryly smiled as he considered Naruto’s speed. It seems that he had taken after his father in more than one way. That speed was worthy of the son of the Yellow Flash. 

Naruto panted harshly as he reached the edge of the Great Bridge of Hope/Team Seven Bridge. It had taken a lot out of him to outrun a Sannin. He smiled as he gazed at the bridge, he wondered how Zabuza and Haku were doing. 

He had come to Wave first to visit Inari and his family before he left to Uzu. He slowly meandered over the bridge, taking his time and admiring the beautiful sea from atop the giant bride. 

Soon enough he had reached Tzauna’s house. He smirked and knocked on the door.

“Yes, who is it?” Tsunami called opening the door. SHe gasped as she saw Naruto standing in her doorway with his hands in his pockets. 

“Why its Naruto-kun! Have you come to visit us? Inari will be so pleased!” 

“Aah. Yeah I’ve come to visit, pardon my intrusion.” 

“No, no, not at all. Please come on in and make yourself at home. I’ll get the tea set up right away!”

“Ah thank you for your hospitality.” Naruto said stepping into the home. 

“Inari! Come see who it is!” Tsunami called into the house. 

“Huh who is it?” Inari asked walking down the stairs. “Ooh! Naruto-niisan!” Inari quickly ran up to Naruto and tackled him with a hug. Naruto, who was used to Konohamru’s constant attacks, received him with ease. 

“Hello Inari it's been a while, huh?” Naruto said stealing the boy’s hat and ruffling his hair fondly. 

“Yeah niisan! It's been too long! Where are the others though? Did they come too?” 

“Unfortunately it's just me this time, but next time I’m sure they would love to come along. Where’s Tazuna at?” 

“He’s in town, the people have recently voted him as the mayor of Wave. He’s been really busy recently!” Inari bragged. 

“I see…” Naruto plopped Inari’s hat back on his head “Congratulations to Tazuna then!” 

“Un!”

“Naruto. Did you just come here to visit?” Tsunami asked

“Yeah. I’m going to be traveling to Uzushio so I just dropped by to say hello. If it's not too much trouble, could I stay the night?” 

“Of course! You’re welcome anytime Naruto.” 

“Ah thank you!”

That night Naruto had a cheerful dinner with Tazuna’s family. The man had come back home and given Naruto a friendly pat on the shoulder and then proceeded to break into the celebratory sake. Naruto asked about the situation in Wave and was pleased to hear that the people were doing better than ever. It seemed that the bridge was really helping out. Naruto then regaled the family with tales of his Chuunin exam adventures and invited them to come spectate the finals that would be happening in a month. Inari and Tazuna happily agreed. 

Then Naruto told them about his training trip to Uzu. 

Tazuna spat out his sake and Tsunami whacked him on the shoulder disapprovingly. “You're going to Uzushio?” He asked in wonder. “Boy, do you know how dangerous that is? The island is cursed! Even sailing near it causes unexplained accidents to happen to sailors! Its known as the island of death around here for a good reason!”

“Ah don’t worry Tazuna-san. I’m a real Uzumaki. I should be safe from the curse, in theory.” Said Naruto sipping his tea calmly. 

“Oi, oi. That's not very reassuring kid.” 

“Maa. What is life without any danger?” 

“But still… A real Uzumaki huh? Haven’t seen one of those in a long time. But aren’t they supposed to have bright red hair though?” 

“My mother had bright red hair but I get my looks from my father I suppose.” 

“Huh. I see. How are you going to get to the island kid? No self respecting boatman from here will take you anywhere near the place.”

“Oh really? Hm… I was hoping to borrow a boat but I suppose I could just run across the water.” 

“Run across? How? Wait. Wait.” Tazuna waved his hands in front of him. “You ninja and your ridiculousness. Of course. Never mind me.” 

“Woah you can run on water niisan?” Inari asked with wide eyes. 

“Haha yeah its a basic skill for ninja.” 

“Can you teach me? Pretty please?”

“I don't know Inari… It's pretty difficult to get the hang of and I’m not sure if I’ll have the time before the tournament starts.” 

“Aw… But maybe some other time?” Inari asked hopefully. 

Naruto patted Inari on the head and laughed, “Haha, sure! Maybe some other time.” 

Tsunami and Tazuna looked at each other and smiled at the kids.

The next day Naruto got up bright and early to travel to Uzushio. He waved goodbye to Tazuna and his family and ran at a brisk pace over the ocean in the direction of Uzushio. 

He absently thought about the curse mark situation as he ran. Perhaps he should have told Sasuke the truth after all? The boy seemed to be reaching the limits of his patience and this new development with Orochimaru certainly wasn’t helping his mental state. And had he been too passive in dealing with Danzo? The traitor couldn’t be allowed to go uncheck for much longer. Thinking about it a little more Minato made up his mind. He would tell Sasuke the truth after he returned from this trip. It was better to do it soon before Sasuke completely snapped. 

Mnato was glad that he was going to Uzushio to learn about their fuinjutsu. There was no better place in the world to study how to remove the curse mark Orochimaru had placed on the Uchiha. He felt a sense of awkwardness visiting Uzushio like this. It was Kushina’s homeland, he would feel like a stranger stepping foot on the island even though he was now an Uzumaki. Kushina had once mentioned how she didn’t want to return to the island to see it in ruins. She would rather keep the memory of it being whole and lively with people. 

Soon the island came into sight, interrupting Minato’s thoughts. There were several churning whirlpools surrounding the island protecting it from smaller ships that Minato could see from a distance. Minato pondered the situation for a bit. Then he had an idea. He ran up to the edge of a whirlpool and then launched himself over it with a great jump. In midair he twisted around and fired a quick burst of wind behind him, clearing the large whirlpool. 

As Minato stepped foot on the island he felt a familiar spine chilling sensation. The cold feeling of the Shinigami’s touch washed over him briefly and then disappeared. Minato let out a breath. It seemed the island had accepted him even though he was only half Uzumaki. He quickly made his way off the white beaches of the island and up a hill overlooking the former village of Uzushiogakure. 

The grand village was in ruins as expected. The white walls surrounding the village were broken down in places. The majority of the buildings bore marks of being destroyed by various jutsu. Compared to Konoha the buildings were much more rectangular in shape and stacked together in a much neater fashion. It was clear that people of the arts had lived here once. The buildings looked meticulously designed to be perfectly symmetrical and geometrically perfect. There were markings of faded fuinjutsu everywhere. Carvings of the whirlpool symbol were littered all over the place. Minato could also see seals lining the streets and painted in every nook and cranny of the buildings. 

Speaking of the streets… He noticed bones lying about everywhere in various positions. He couldn't distinguish between attacker and defender with all the bodies simply lying about. 

He frowned. He couldn't leave Kushina’s village in this state. He formed as many shadow clones as he could. A mass of blue and black overtook the entire village. He nodded at the nearest clone and they all set off gathering bodies and setting them down in the large courtyard in the middle of the village. 

And thus Minato’s first three days on the island were occupied with gathering all the bodies he could find. Food and sleep were of little concern to him. Though he did pause a few times to eat supplies he had sealed away in a couple of scrolls. 

He caught glimpses of what life must have been like before the destruction of the village. Fuinjutsu seemed to facilitate every aspect of life in the village. There were minor seals for warming food, maintaining room temperature, emitting light, in fact there seemed to be a seal for everything. Minato truly wished to be able to see what Uzushio had been like during its heydays. 

“ **I could show you.”**

_ ‘Hm? Kurama? I thought you were napping…?’  _

**_“_ ** **I could show you what Uzushio was like. I have enough of Mito’s memories to do so.”**

_ ‘You would do that for me? Thank you... I appreciate this. What would you like in exchange?’  _

**“Hmph. You understand me at least. I want this blasted collar off of me. I can’t scratch my neck and its itchy.”**

**‘** _ Hahaha! Of course I’ll see what i can do to retrieve the seal key from the toads. I hope you are aware by this point that if you try to escape you will kill us both.’  _

**“Tch. Of course I know. Damn your sealing skills. Now. Here. Shut up now.”**

Minato rocked in place as he was suddenly assaulted with a flood of information. Uzushio in its prime was a sight for sore eyes. Smiles everywhere, great looming buildings that boasted beautiful fuinjutsu carvings, sparkling fuinjutsu tags being part of everyday life. A sea of red hair and never ending fuinjutsu symbols. It was in a name, a village of science and discovery. Minato had tears running down his face by the end of the memories. He felt shaken that such a village had been eradicated to protect their discoveries and advancements. It had been so beautiful, almost like an ideal village. Though he kept in mind that Uzushio must have had its darkness as well. And yet… it was all gone. Minato felt an unnamed grief for the Uzumaki. So much loss… 

Minato stood in the middle of the courtyard building a gigantic pyre for all the bodies he had found. He thought back to the three days of backbreaking labor he had just gone through. He sat down on an unbroken bench that overlooked the courtyard. Minato felt like he had been driven by an unknown force towards the location of every dead body. He had dug through rubble for every single bone he could find. He pondered the last jutsu that had been used on the island. 

At some point he had discovered the Kage of the village. They were surrounded by guards and fallen around a massive summoning circle. Reading the summoning circle was a complicated feat that took him nearly half of an entire day. But he managed in the end. The Uzumaki had summoned the Shinigami himself and offered themselves up as sacrifices in exchange for the deaths of their enemies once they had realized there was no chance of victory. Minato idly wondered what would have happened if he had brought the Shinigami mask to Uzu. Said mask had been sitting in a heavily sealed box in a secret compartment of his home. Perhaps he would have been able to commune with the Shinigami with the mask considering how much his influence had touched the land. 

He shook his head. Minato turned towards the clones who were piling bodies on the pyre. He inhaled deeply and stood. He approached the pyre and stared at it for a moment. He took another deep breath and lit it with a quick fire jutsu, dismissing his clones. He watched the dancing flames with distant eyes and slowly fed body after body to the fire. 

That night he fell asleep in the courtyard to dreams of dancing symbols and a shining village. He woke with tears trailing down his face. 

He sat up and wiped his face, then he went to the small river that bisected the island and washed up. After he had eaten he stood and walked back to the courtyard where he had spent the night. He looked at the pyre. It had burned itself out sometime during the middle of the night. Minato sighed, it felt like a huge weight was off his back now that the deed was done. 

He wandered through the now familiar streets of Uzushio and compared what he saw with Mito’s memories. Once again he was hit by grief looking at the fallen buildings where they had once stood tall and proud. He soon found the building that he was looking for. The Uzumaki archives. The building looked untouched by battle, it seemed that many Uzumaki had given their lives to defend the building. He remembered the circle of bodies that had ringed the building when he first arrived. 

Minato walked up to the building and placed a hand on the door. A bright fuinjutsu array appeared and prevented his hand from actually touching the door. Minato’s eyes flashed over the fuinjutsu. He bit his thumb and let a few drops of blood well up then he placed his hand on the door. Another complicated array popped up. He smirked, well the Uzumaki were rightfully paranoid weren’t they? The new seal that appeared could only be undone with Uzumaki seal techniques. Thankfully Kushina had taught him all that she could of Uzumaki sealing methods to help him create the Hiraishin. Minato easily formed a custom seal key in his hand using chakra and slammed it onto the door. The door slowly creaked open and Mianto stepped inside the archive. 

There were giant shelves filled with scrolls and books stretching from floor to ceiling dominating the entire archive. The ceilings were extraordinarily high too with massive sky lights illuminating the shelves with a soft golden glow. The building was much larger inside that it looked from the outside. Dust floated softly, dancing in the still air of the archive. 

Minato gaped in wonder at the wealth of information spread out in front of him. He didn’t doubt that his month on Uzushio would not be wasted. Mianto formed ten shadow clones and scattered them throughout the shelves. He was trembling in excitement. There was just so much to learn from the Uzumaki! He hadn’t even visited the Kage tower archives where the more powerful seals were stored yet! He inhaled shakily and grinned wildly. He wished Kushina were here to revel in all the information with him. 

He reverently walked up to one of the shelves and stroked it gently. He felt the faint humming of security seals inscribed in the wood and chuckled. He cracked his knuckles. It was time to get down to business. 

  
  


“ **What were you thinking! Dispelling all those clones at the same time!? If it wasn’t for me you would have died! Don’t make more than ten and dispel them one at a time! You fool!”** The Kyuubi roared.

Minato groaned from the voice ringing through his mind. His brain felt like it had turned to mush under the amount of information he had just absorbed. He had been too excited and caught up in learning that he had formed more clones to maximize the amount of information he could absorb. 

_ ‘Sorry Kurama…. I got too excited and forgot myself ehehe.’  _

Minato laid on the floor and cradled his pounding head, slowly sifting through the mass of information he’d received. He was giddy with what he had learned. He felt like a child in a candy store with all the fuinjutsu knowledge surrounding him. He had set a goal to read everything in the archive by the end of the month so he had been racing through scroll after scroll. He did leave the archive to train his body in order to not regress while his shadow clones continued studying though. 

He suddenly started as an interesting piece of information reached the forefront of his thoughts. Minato groaned and stood slowly, still holding his head. He made his way to the back of the archive were there was a strange symbol faintly written on a small section in the corner. The symbol looked like a small fox twisted into the number nine. Minato gently stroked the mark. Suddenly the walls trembled and shook. Minato backed up hesitantly as a section of the wall gave away and revealed a small nook that contained a stand with a single large scroll set upon it. 

Kurama gasped in his mind.  **“That scroll! Is that what I think it is?”**

_ ‘Huh? What is it?’  _ Minato asked. 

**“The summoning scroll for the Kitsune of Budo no Mori… I thought it had been destroyed… SO this is where Mito put it.”**

**‘** _ Hoh. So it's a summoning scroll huh.’ _

**“It's not just any summoning scroll fool! It is the summoning scroll for Kitsune! Think about it for a moment!”**

_ ‘Does that mean… You're a Kitsune? Can you be summoned with this scroll? Is that how the masked man summoned you?’  _

**“No! You fool! I am greater than a Kitsune! I am the Kyuubi! The great and terrifying Nine Tailed fox! He summoned me with a different technique!”**

_ ‘Ah. Sorry. But you can be summoned with this then?’  _

**“Feh. As if anyone has enough chakra to perform such a feat aside from you. Sign it immediately. I want out of this seal. This method won’t kill us.”**

_ ‘Ah but… I was planning on resigning with the toads somehow…’  _

**“FOOL! The Kitsune are superior in every way compared to those silly toads! They are masters of genjutsu and fuinjutsu. They are speedy and nimble and master trackers. The Hatake brat’s hounds can not compare. You want to be a hunter yes? Then these are invaluable companions. They may be crafty and tricky but they are loyal like none other. Sign. Immediately. You have no need of the toads.”**

_ ‘Ah but the toads have sage mode and the key to your seal…’  _

**“So? Ask the old pervert for the key. Guilt him for it if you must. The foxes have their own sage mode as well. Sage mode is simply drawing on nature chakra. It is not exclusive to the toads.”**

_ ‘I see… How do the Kitsune teach sage mode though? It also pains my heart to sign with a clan other than the toads. I had many friends from the toad clan.’ _

**_“_ ** **Bah. Kitsune feed you a special Inari sushi that opens your senses to nature chakra. You will most definitely survive considering that the sushi only allows for a small trickle of nature energy at a time. Think of it as a more advanced food pill. Also, you are not Minato anymore are you? You are Naruto. Your friendships with the toads have ended.”**

Minato lowered his head. That was true. this was a new life now. He was Naruto now and not Minato. He said so himself. 

_ ‘Very well… I shall sign with the kitsune of Budo Forest.’ _

Minato took the scroll from the stand and unrolled it. He noticed that there were no names before him. He tilted his head curiously, ‘ _ I am the first summoner of the Kitsune then?’  _

**“Yes… this scroll has not been used before. You must prove yourself worthy of the Kitsune as their first summoner.”**

_ ‘I see. I will do my best to live up to expectations then.’  _

**_‘Tch. You have sealed the great Kyuubi. There is no more you can do to prove yourself to them.’_ ** The Kyuubi thought sourly. 

Minato bit his right thumb and signed ‘Uzumaki Naruto’ as his name, then he dabbed each of the fingers in the blood and pressed his finger prints onto the scroll. 

‘ _ How much chakra should I use to summon?’  _

**First summon the smallest Kitsune you can to inform the clan of the new summoner. Then leave the archives and use all of your chakra.”**

_ ‘Alright then. Here goes.’  _

Minato formed the ever familiar signs, bird, boar, dog, dragon, hare, horse, monkey, ox, ram, rat, snake, and tiger. He slammed his hand down on the floor and a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared a small fox the size of Kakashi’s Pakkun appeared. The fox was bright orange and had white tipped tail and feet. 

“Woah! A summoner? Wow we've never had a summoner before! What’s your name?!” A high pitched voice chirped excitedly. 

“Ah hello. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am honored to be your first summoner. What is your name if I may ask?”

“My name is Kiku!” The small Kitsune titled its head, “But thats not the name of your soul is it?” 

Minato stared at the small fox in surprise. Kurama chuckled in his mind, Kitsune were incredibly smart. Unlike those dumb toads. “Ah My soul… Is Namikaze Minato. I think of myself as Naruto now though.” 

“Okay Naruto! I’ll be going back to inform everyone of our new summoner! They’ll be so excited! I know I am!” 

“Thank you Kiku.” Minato bowed to the small fox. 

“Oh my! So polite too! They’ll love you!” The fox disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke. 

Minato huffed a breath of amusement. He followed Kurama’s instructions and made his way out to the open courtyard of Uzushio and began the hand signs for the summoning jutsu. 

He slammed his hand down on the ground and pushed all of the chakra he could manage into the jutsu. He was lifted high into the air as a great explosion of smoke occurred in the courtyard. Minato fell on his butt as he gaped at the creature he summoned. A giant Kitsune even larger than Gamabunta sat crouched in the middle of Uzushio. The Kitsune was white in color and had a black tipped tail, ears, and paws. The Kitsune yawned widely making Minato cling to its head with chakra to not fall off. 

“Hm…? A summoning? I wonder… How many years has it been since we created that scroll?” 

**“Human. Lend me your mouth for a moment.”**

_ ‘Huh? How do I do that?’ _

**“Release control of your body.”**

Minato frowned slightly and did as he was told. 

“ **Kosai! It's me! Kurama!”** Minato shouted in a deepened voice. 

The Kitsune glanced up at its head. It's great tail came around and wrapped around Minato’s body gently bringing him in front of the eyes of the giant fox. 

“Kurama? Why are you in that human? Is this our new summoner?”

**“Feh. I was sealed as you know, into this human, by himself. He is our new summoner.”**

“Hm… I see.” The fox yawned again. “You woke me from my slumber. But I suppose gaining a new summoner is worth it… Now. I suppose a test is unnecessary if he managed to seal Kurama… I would still have him groom me though.” 

**“You lazy bum! You haven’t changed a bit! That's no test!”** Kurama yelled through Minato angrily. 

“Mm… but he needs to be capable of such a thing if he is to be the summoner of the Kitsune. No?” The fox said lazily laying down in the courtyard and placing Minato on his head. 

Kurama shouted in indignation as Mianto began moving obediently and started scratching behind the Kitsune’ s ears. In Minato’s experience it was simply easier and faster to just bend to a prideful summon’s demands. 

“Oh… He’s good. Knows the spots.” Kosai purred as Minato shuffled around on his head. Minato snickered to himself and formed several shadow clones to speed up the grooming process as Kurama grumbled to himself. Kurama was secretly deathly jealous of Kosai. The lazy bastard was thoroughly enjoying Minato’s ministrations. After an hour of grooming, the Kitsune stood sleepily and yawned again. “Mm… Thank you for the excellent grooming. I sense you will be a wonderful summoner. Well. Until next time I suppose.” He pulled Minato from his head with his tail and set him on the ground politely and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

Minato dusted himself off and smiled. That had been much easier compared to dealing with Gamabunta. He would miss the toads but it seemed being the summoner of the foxes would be interesting as well. 


	30. Clone Days

Naruto’s clone panted for breath as he rested behind a chimney on a random roof. It was night time and Jiraiya had for some reason begun stalking the clone. The clone had been fruitlessly trying to shake the man off his trail for several hours now. Jiraiya had somehow found a way into his house and now nowhere in Konoha was safe. He tensed slightly was he felt Jiraiya’s signature pass him.

Suddenly the clone felt a distant clash of chakras across the village. He started and shot off in the direction of the distressed chakra signature. Who was fighting for their life at this time of the night and why? 

The clone arrived at a blood soaked scene. Hayate, the proctor of the preliminary matches, was lying in a pool of his own blood slowly bleeding out from a large slash across his chest. The clone hurried over and lifted the man to take him to the hospital. He was relieved to feel a faint heartbeat. There was a chance to save the man! 

Hayate weakly gripped his shirt, “Tell… The Hokage….” he gasped out weakly, “Sound… and Sand…. Are plotting to destroy Konoha!” The clone stared at Hayate with a shocked expression. What had Hayate stumbled on?

The clone then activated a Hiraishin seal at the hospital, landing in the lobby. “Quick I need help here! Shinobi in critical condition!” He yelled at the shocked nurses and doctors. After a moment of hesitation they hurried over. Bringing a stretcher and applying basic healing jutsus to the grave wound on Hayate’s chest.The Naruto clone stared after the quickly departing crew of doctors and looked down at its hands stained in blood. The clone stretched its senses out to find the Hokage. Then it disappeared in another quick Hiraishin to the Hokage’s office. 

A moment after he materialized in the office he was surrounded by ANBU with blades drawn pointed at his throat. 

“Hokage-sama” He called ignoring the ANBU. “I bring grave news!” 

The Hokage glanced up with weary eyes and waved the ANBU off of Naruto he sat back down in his chair with a thump. “What is it Naruto? It's late and I want to leave soon.” 

“I just found Hayate in critical condition, it seems that he was attacked while in the middle of trying to deliver a message. He is currently in the hospital with doctors trying to save his life. He told me that Sand and Sound are plotting to destroy Konoha.” 

The Hokage huffed out a breath and leaned back in his chair heavily. He placed a hand over his eyes. “Well… It seems I won’t be going home anytime soon… Did Hayate tell you anything else Naruto?”

“No, that was all he managed before he fainted from blood loss.” 

“I see. It was suspicious that Suna would send their Jinchuuriki to the exams after all. Unfortunately, we may not be able to act until Haytae recovers and can tell us more. ANBU! Set two platoons to guard Hayate! He cannot be allowed to die at this point!” The Hokage barked. “Good work Naruto, we have been suspecting Sound due to its connections with Orochimaru for quite a while, so this is not entirely unexpected.” 

“What will happen to the exams? Are we canceling?” Naruto asked. 

“We cannot cancel at this point. There is no proof that Sound and Sand will invade and the Daimyos are coming. We can’t afford to lose face by canceling the tournament.”

“But we would lose even more face by being attacked during the tournament!”

“If we were to be attacked during the tournament we would be able to show off the full strength of the village by handling things efficiently. I believe in the strength of Konoha. We will face our enemies as they come.” 

“Then why not launch a preemptive attack if we know we will be attacked?”

“There is no proof Naruto. It would be an unprovoked attack that could lead to war. We don’t want to be the ones breaking the alliance between Suna and Konoha.” 

“No I meant on Sound. Orochimaru has already infiltrated the village and killed our shinobi and there may be traitors in our ranks helping him.” 

“Hmm… yes the traitor problem… I have my ANBU conducting interrogations on our own shinobi right now. There is not much more that can be done.” The Hokage puffed on his pipe. “As for Sound… We can’t afford to attack without cause once again. It's possible that since Hayate has survived they may cancel their invasion.” 

“But that-!”

“Enough, Naruto. I am still Hokage and this is what I have decided. I understand your worries and concerns. Konoha is strong. We will be able to repel any attack easily. I believe in the Will of Fire. Our shinobi will rise up to defend the village with all their might.” 

The Naruto clone sighed and deflated. It nodded forlornly in agreement. 

Then a figure jumped onto the window sill of the office window. “I found you brat!” Jiraiya delacred, pointing dramatically at Naruto. 

“Jiraiya. Don’t bother the boy if he doesn’t want to see your face.” The Sandaime scolded. Jiraiya slumped over on the window sadly. 

“But I can train him for the Chuunin exams!”

“There is nothing you can teach me you old pervert.” The clone said harshly. 

“What do you mean? I’m one of the three great Sannin! I’m sure there’s things I know that would blow your mind! I still need to offer you the toad contract from your dad too!

“No need. I can’t sign it now anyways. I’m a clone.” 

“C’mon kid. I’m really trying to make it up to you here!” 

Naruto’s eyes flashed in fury. “There is no need. I know who you really are. You’re doing this for the sake of your own self satisfaction. You don’t want to deal with the guilt of having left me for thirteen years properly. It will be a while before I even  _ consider _ forgiving you.” 

Jiraiya had a pained expression on his face after Naruto’s harsh words while the Sandaime just sat there silently. 

“Maybe start by staying to help with the Orochimaru situation instead of running from your problems like a coward.” Naruto spat. Spinning around and leaving the office in a storm of emotions. 

“He’s right you know… Konoha needs your power Jiraiya. I am too old to be able to deal with Orochimaru on my own” Said the Sandaime lowering his hat. 

Jiraiya sighed and took a seat in front of the Sandaime’s desk. “I don't know about that… But I also don’t know how to approach the kid. I want to make up for it but he makes it so hard. He’s just like Minato you know? I’ve seen him train. Its like watching Minato all over again.” 

“I am well aware. He has the same drive and passion. Quite frankly, sometimes I forget who I’m talking to when I’m with him.” 

Jiraiya threw an arm over his eyes, “Yeah. He’s scary when he’s mad, just like Minato.” 

  
  


A clone watched idly as Naruto sparred furiously with one of his new Kitsune summons. Naruto had summoned a taijutsu specialized fox to teach him the Kitsune claw fighting style while remastering sage mode. It was a ferocious and wild style similar to the Inuzuka jujin taijutsu. It relied on fast darting movements to vital points and slashes. For Naruto who often fought dual wielding kunai it was a perfect match. He had picked it up quickly and was now fighting Tsutsuji, his summon, with his resistance seals set to level thirteen. 

Tsutsuji was an older kitsune with a dappled grey coat and black muzzle. The kitsune was strict and no nonsense and drilled Naruto relentlessly until he could perform his katas with his eyes closed. The fox would nip at Naruto’s legs every time he messed up leading to bloodied pants and ruined sandals. 

Tsutsuji ducked underneath a slash and lashed out at Naruto’s eyes. Naruto quickly dodged saving his eyesight and aimed for the kitsune’s kidneys with another slash. Tsutsuji nimbly twisted out of the way and flipped backwards landing atop a piece of rubble. 

“Good, good. You have indeed mastered the aspects of this style quite well. Let’s kick it up a notch shall we?” The kitsune asked. 

Naruto grinned back and released his resistance seals. “Sure, if you can keep up that is!”

“Hmph. Don’t get cocky kit! You still have a long way to go!”

The clone yawned widely and went back to reading scrolls as the sparring began sending pieces of rubble flying everywhere. The clone absently conjured a seal with his hand and burned it into the ground. Bits of rock bounced off the blue barrier that popped up. 

The new sage mode afforded for enhanced senses even more so compared to when he had mastered sage mode with the toads. It was almost overwhelming, he had also gained a more feral quality with the new Kitsune sage mode. His hair turned red at the tips, his eyes had become slitted, he gained black markings around his eyes, his nails sharpened, and his incisors grew sharper. He was even faster than when he had mastered sage mode with the toads and somehow he felt more attuned to nature than before. When he asked about it Kurama had snorted and said that the kitsune were a much better fit for him compared to the toads. Mianto didn't really know how to feel about that. The toads had been long time friends and he felt as if he were betraying them. Kurama laughed at him and said he wasn’t though, that he had simply moved on. So maybe it was fine? 

At least Kurama seemed happier than ever. Using a combination of Kurama’s chakra and his own chakra he had managed to summon Kurama outside of the seal for a brief few moments. They would need more practice and stabilization of the eight pronged seal combined with the six pronged seal in order to increase the time Kurama could spend outside. 

The first thing the fox had done when released from the seal was to take a deep breath and laugh wildly. Kurama’s joy had been infectious and spread to Minato as well. Both had laughed together and then run wild in the ruins of Uzushio. They played the world’s most high speed and dangerous game of tag. Kurama playfully threatened to kill minato for sealing him away and Minato had dared him to do something about it. 

They shot off after a moment of silence and staring with Minato cackling as he Hiraishined in all directions and used shadow clones to dance around the fox. The fox himself had playfully batted at the clones and romped shamelessly. The chase lasted an entire day and Minato had been chakra exhausted by the end of it. Kurama took pity on him though, and had lent and bit of chakra to him as a reward for such a good chase. Kurama had returned to his seal quietly and with little complaint after the chase, simply content with how life was at the moment. 

The clone poked at the newly formed barrier seal he had just conjured. The Uzumaki were true geniuses. There was so much to fuinjutsu Minato had never even considered before coming to Uzushio. They treated it like an art instead of a tool in Uzu. 

He also had discovered several time and space bending seals in the kage tower that he used to improve his Hiraishin even further. He was greatly inspired by the Uzumaki seals he had discovered so far. Ideas popped into his head left and right. Minato even had a clone solely dedicated to writing down new ideas to explore later. 

The clones had all been hard at work studying all that they could get their hands on. For the past fifteen days Mianto had been cycling clones in and out of the archive researching. He was slowly approaching his limits but he pushed himself further each time. He was determined to be able to carry on the legacy of the Uzumaki by learning all he could before it was all lost to time. 

Tsutsuji kicked Minato back, sending him crashing into the barrier that his clone had erected. Mianto slid down the barrier with a groan and then hopped to his feet ready to start charging again when Tsutsuji held up a paw. 

“That’s enough for today. Naruto. You have been doing extremely well. I am proud to call you the summoner of the kitsune.”

Minato straightened up and bowed at the old fox. “Thank you Tsutsuji-san. I appreciate your teachings.” 

The fox nodded at him and then poofed away. 

Minato collapsed to his knees as his body gave out on him. The spar had lasted three days and he was beat. One of his clones wandered over to him and poked him in the head with a stick. He sure was a cheeky bastard huh? “Do you want us to start tackling the private clan compound libraries?” It asked. 

“Yeah please do. Dispel if you can’t get in, I’ll take care of it.” 

“Mm… Understood. Are you passing out now?” 

“...Yeah…” Minato said weakly. 

And thus Minato went out like a light. When he woke up his head was pounding, as was usual with using shadow clones to keep learning while asleep. Minato stayed lying down on his sleeping mat cradling his head. It would all be worth it in the end, he told himself. The constant migraines were being dealt with rather quickly from Kurama’s influence but it didn't mean that they stopped hurting when they first started. 

He had made leaps and bounds with his fuinjutsu mastery in Uzushio. Minato was truly in heaven with all this information at his fingertips. He assumed he could call himself a true Uzumaki seal master soon. By the end of the month he would be able to master true Uzumaki seal techniques to use in battle. He couldn’t wait. 

He had also been hoarding various high quality sealing supplies from the ruins in various storage seals. He had found a recipe for high quality ink that he had drooled over. He had found high quality paper the likes of which he had never seen before. He had found exotic brushes made with the finest of animal hair. All of this he took while paying the utmost respect to the Uzumaki. They would be put to good use instead of gathering dust in the ruins he mentally promised. 

Truly, he would not be regretting his time spent in Uzushio anytime soon. 


	31. Round One Days Part One

Kiba tapped his foot impatiently as he stood in the line of tournament participants in the middle of the large arena. The day of the tournament was here. The applicants for the Chuunin exams had gathered in Konoha’s fighting arena in front of hundreds of spectators. The arena was sparsely wooded and mostly open ground for easy spectating. There was also a small pond of water in the corner for Suiton users.

There were quite a few people missing from the list of participants. He turned glanced around nervously. Where the hell were Naruto and Sasuke? They were late! This wasn’t like them at all. Naruto was usually a stickler for being on time and Sasuke liked to be early to everything. 

The proctor for the finals, Shiranui Genma, who was brown haired, wore a bandanna hitai-ate and had a senbon in his mouth, turned to Kiba and said,

“Stop fidgeting! Stand still and face the guests properly!” 

“Ah. Sorry” Kiba sheepishly rubbed his head. “But what happens if people don’t get here on time?” Kiba asked. 

“They’ll probably be disqualified or lose their chance to become Chuunin.” 

Suddenly a harsh gust of wind blew across the arena. A twister of wind formed in the arena a floor blowing up clouds of dust, causing everyone to cover their eyes. As the dust cleared they saw Naruto standing there nonchalantly. The boy now wore a red haori with black flames along the bottom. His hair was longer than usual and several people noted his striking resemblance to a certain blonde Hokage. He calmly walked over to the line up and bowed to the proctor. 

“I’m sorry I’m late, something came up.” 

Genma shrugged. “Eh. Whatever, you got here just in time. Any idea where your teammate is?”

Naruto looked over the line and smirked. “I’m sure he'll be here soon. He won't keep Kiba waiting for long.” 

“Damn right! He better not!” Kiba yelled. Akamaru barked from within his coat. 

Another harsh gust of wind blew across the arena floor kicking up dust. Sasuke and Kakashi arrived back to back in a flurry of leaves. 

“Maa… I hope we’re not too late?” Kakashi asked sheepishly. 

“Hn. I told you we would be late.” Sasuke grunted. 

Genma just sighed. Kakashi was rubbing off on his students too much. “No, no. Just in time. Get in line.” 

Sasuke casually trotted over to the line and smirked at a scowling Kiba. “Ready to go down dobe?”

“Watch your mouth Sasuke! Because you’ll be the one going down today bastard!” 

“Right. No fighting just yet. Save that for the tournament.” Said Genma. “Its starting so get ready” The Kazekage had finally arrived. 

“Ahem.” The Hokage stood and enhanced his voice with chakra. “Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests. Welcome and heartfelt thanks for gathering here in Konohagakure for the Chuunin exams! We will now begin the matches of the final round between the nine candidate who advanced in the preliminaries. Please sit back and enjoy!” 

“Nine candidates? Weren’t there ten? What happened to that Dosu guy?” Kiba asked curiously. 

Genma did not respond. He merely held up a sheet of paper with the tournament brackets drawn on it. “Before we begin, I have a few announcements. There have been a few last minute changes, so look again and confirm your assigned opponent.” 

It appeared that Dosu had withdrawn… The only change now was that Lee and Shino no longer had to fight an extra match and Tenten was up against Gaara. 

“Listen up, all of you.” Genma continued. “This is the final exam. The landscape may be different but just as with the preliminaries there are no set rules. You fight until one of you dies or admits defeat. Unless I determine that a clear winner has already been decided, in which case I'll stop the match before anyone is killed. Understand?” 

The genin stared resolutely at Genma. He nodded, “Alright then. Match one Uzumaki Naruto… and Hyuga Neji. You two stay down here. The rest of you proceed to the waiting room outside the arena.” 

The genin shuffled off the arena floor and made their way to the designated waiting room. Leaving Neji and Naruto standing in the arena with the proctor. 

The two genin assessed each other calmly. Neji activated his Byakugan and glared at Naruto. Naruto tilted his head back and put his hand in his pockets. 

“Now then. Match one. Begin!” Genma called backing up a few steps. 

“Hmph. I acknowledge you as strong, Naruto. But it is your destiny to lose to me today.” Neji declared taking up the standard juuken stance. 

“Hm… That’s rather arrogant of you wouldn’t you say? Who’s to say destiny can’t be changed?” Naruto asked casually.

“Because destiny is set in stone. There is no changing your predetermined fate. Abilities and talent are determined at birth. Your entire destiny is set from the moment you are born. You are merely an above average genin who shall fall to the might of the Hyuga clan. 

_ ‘Ah. So I’ll be changing this boy’s mind by literally beating this thought process out of him then. No one knows that I’m the Yellow Flash’s son just yet. If I go from an underdog to beating Neji, it should at least shake his world view.’  _ Naruto thought. 

Naruto shifted his weight to his right leg, “If destiny is so set in stone, why would you still try? Why would one still train and struggle in life if everything has been predetermined? You could simply stand there and do nothing and win, no? But you will fight me because neither of us knows who will win just yet.” 

“Pretty words. But it does not change the fact that you will fall before me today!” With those words Neji charged at Naruto, arms readied for a devastating juuken strike. 

Naruto smoothly dodged a strike to his shoulder and retaliated with a high kick. Neji made to catch his leg and then disable it by pressing Naruto’s tenketsu when Naruto abruptly disappeared. Neji’s eyes widened, he turned quickly and ducked under a kick to the back of his head. 

“Tch!” Neji leaped backwards to avoid a spinning kick from Naruto’s other leg. Naruto disappeared again and Neji had to dodge a punch to his side from the other direction. In an instant Naruto was gone again, giving Neji no opportunity to attack. Neji was confused. What was that speed burst just now? It was almost like fighting Lee! 

Unknown to Neji, Naruto had released his resistance seals to level 5 just then. Naruto formed five shadow clones that approached Neji quickly from all directions. Neji was hard pressed to avoid the omnidirectional attacks but he managed somehow. He reached out and struck a clone in the chest, causing the clone to explode in a great burst of chakra. Neji immediately exuded a large amount of chakra and spun in place. A dome of chakra formed around Neji and dispersed the backlash of the explosion. 

Minato smirked.

“What was that about not fighting fate? I can see that you are fighting on your own as well. Isn’t that a technique reserved for the main house? If you truly believed what you espoused, why bother learning such a technique?” 

“Feh it was merely a useful technique after all.” 

Naruto smiled beautifically at Neji. He dispelled his clones and pulled out a single kunai. “Seems you are rebelling against your destiny after all, hm?

“My destiny has already been determined by my birth! It matters not what I do!”

Naruto threw his kunai at Neji who scoffed and raised his own kunai to deflect it. Then Naruto made a half ram sign. The single kunai multiplied into a veritable storm of metal. Neji’s eyes widened and he frantically spun in place again and blocked the hailstorm of kunai from hitting him. 

“Destiny is not determined at birth! The fourth Hokage was a nameless orphan who rose to greatness by the virtue of his own hard work!” Naruto pulled out another kunai. “Now let’s see how many times you can use that move!”

“Then he was one of a select few individuals who was chosen for greatness!” Neji shouted as he deflected another rain of sharp kunai. 

“No!” Naruto relentlessly bombarded Neji with a never ending rain of solid kunai bunshins. “He made it to the position of Kage through hard work and determination! There was no such circumstances at birth which would have allowed him to coast to the position of Kage without trying!” 

“I hate brats who try to lecture others without knowing anything.” Neji spat. Sending away the kunai. He paused and panted for breath. The ground around him was covered in metal except for a small circle around him. 

Naruto laughed incredulously at the statement. 

“You know nothing of the fate of the branch family of the Hyuga.” Neji said angrily. 

“If you’re talking about the curse mark I know all about it. You are not the only one to be marked while young for a seemingly inescapable fate! It is not proof that you cannot escape your destiny!” Naruto retorted. 

Neji grinned. It was not a pretty expression. “Heh. Then do you know of the incident?” 

Naruto paused. “What incident?”

“The incident where my father was murdered by the main branch!” 

“What!?”

‘ _ Hizashi is dead? Murdered by the head family?’  _ Minato thought in surprise. ‘ _ That can’t be right!’ _

“One night someone tried to kidnap Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama rushed to the scene and killed the perpetrator. But who do you think was the kidnapper?” Neji smirked. “It was a Kumo nin with whom we had just signed an alliance! Kumo claimed that Konoha had violated the treaty and demanded Hiashi’s head. War nearly broke out. But war was averted. Thanks to my father, who was sacrificed to protect the main branch… He was murdered to serve as Hiashi’s body double!” Neji titled head head back arrogantly, “Even though they were identical twins with practically equivalent strength. The difference between being born first and being born second… Sealed their fates forever. And so too in this match the moment I was selected as your opponent your fate was sealed.” 

Minato stood there. He didn’t believe that that was all there was to Hizashi’s death. The Hiashi he knew would have ever allowed such a thing to happen to his brother. He stared determinedly at Neji. “You're still wrong to believe that everyone’s destinies are predetermined! I'll change the Hyuga myself!” 

“Hmph. It seems not everyone can see sense. No matter. You are now within the range of my divination!” Neji said taking a low stance with his left arm outstretched in front of him and this right arm extended behind him. 

Naruto’s eyes widened. That stance! This boy! He truly was a genius if he had recreated that move by himself!

“Gentle fist… Eight trigrams sixty four palms!” Neji spun and advanced upon Naruto, hands darting out and reaching for Naruto’s tenketsu. 

“Eight trigrams two palms!” But just as he was about to land a hit on Naruto his hands were smoothly redirected with incredibly sure movements. Neji grit his teeth tightly and increased the speed of his strikes. 

“Four palms!” Naruto easily brushed away each of his strikes. 

“Eight palms!” Naruto weaved around him like water. 

“Sixteen palms!” Each hit was sent to the side and rendered useless.

“Thirty two palms!” Naruto blurred and Neji could no longer track how he was dodging him. 

“Sixty four palms!” Naruto disappeared from sight and Neji was hitting air. 

Up in the stands Hiashi stood. First Neji had shocked him by using techniques limited to the head family and then Naruto recreated the Fourth’s moves in dodging the Sixty four palms that the Hokage had created when sparring with him. Would Naruto be…? The resemblance was there after all… 

Naruto reappeared on the walls of the arena as Neji gasped for breath and rested within the circle of kunai he had cleared. 

Naruto grinned at Neji. Neji felt a foreboding feeling go down his spine. 

Naruto made a ram seal. Neji fell to his knees crushed under the weight of a gravity increasing seal. The original kunai that Naruto had thrown were glowing with fuinjutsu markings.

Neji cursed himself as he fell forward under the heavy pressure. No! He would not lose like this! This wasn’t his fate! He was destined to win! He placed a hand forwards and shakily pushed himself up. He slowly, inch by inch, crawled out of the circle of kunai. 

Naruto watched with a wry smile. Neji was one stubborn bastard. Most people in that gravity trap would have given up already. But Neji was still fighting. The boy was really a hypocrite. 

Naruto hopped off the wall and walked over to Neji who was wheezing for breath on the ground. “I thought you said destiny couldn’t be changed. Then why are you fighting so hard?” Neji glared up at him and pushed himself to his feet. He wobbled in place for a bit and set a determined gaze on Naruto. He stretched his right arm out and made a ‘come on’ gesture, too tired for words. 

Naruto indulged him. He charged forwards forming a Rasengan in his left palm as Neji spun in a kaiten. The two forces clashed in a huge explosion. The proctor was nearly blown out of the arena, just barely holding on by applying chakra to his feet. 

When the dust had settled Naruto was standing without a single hair out of place while Neji was deep in a trench carved by his own body. Genma looked back and forth between the two and took a deep breath. He raised his right arm, 

“Winner of the first match! Uzumaki Naruto!” 

  
  


Naruto followed the med nins as they carried Neji out of the arena. He had to see if Neji was alright after that last clash. It seemed the boy was suffering from a serious case of chakra exhaustion due to using the Kaiten one too many times. 

He was surprised to see Hiashi approaching the med bay. Naruto nodded respectfully at the man. Hiashi paused briefly upon seeing Naruto there. 

“Excellent match Uzumaki-San. Do you by any chance know of your parentage?” He asked. 

Naruto stared at Hiashi calmly. “Yes. I do.” 

“I see… May I ask what your father’s name was?” 

Naruto tilted his head at Hiashi. He didn’t know? “His name is withheld for my own safety, you understand Hiashi-san.” 

“I understand. Thank you for your time. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Hiashi inclined his head towards Naruto and knocked on the door to the med bay. He entered after he was given permission and closed the door behind him. Soon the med nins left the room and Hiashi was left in the med bay with only Neji. 

Naruto leaned against the door and listened quietly as Hiashi explained to Neji the truth of his father’s death. 

So in the end Hizashi had gained his freedom huh? That was good to know. Though if he were Hokage he would have ensured that this incident wouldn’t have needed a body to resolve. His relationship with A had been good enough that he was confident he could have solved the issue in a different manner. 

It seemed that every time he learned more about how Hiruzen handled things after his death, the more he was disappointed.

He knocked on the door to the med bay. 

“Come in.”

Naruto opened the door to find a teary eyed but stoic Neji and a solemn Hiashi. 

“Hiashi-sama,” Naruto bowed to the man “I believe I may have a solution for the rift that has formed between the Hyuga.” 

Hiashi assessed Naruto curiously. “What?” He asked, confused by this turn of events. 

“I recently returned from a training trip to Uzushio and I have mastered the arts of Uzumaki sealing. I can create a new seal that is universal among the Hyuga that would seal the Byakugan but would lack the control aspect of the old seal. I can also remove the old Hyuga curse seal.” Said Naruto. 

“What!? That's impossible! Trying to remove the curse seal results in the death of the Hyuga! This has been tested many times in the past by our enemies!” Hiashi exclaimed. 

“I can prove it right now with Neji if you wish.” Naruto said calmly. 

“Eh?” Asked Neji.

“Huh? N-Naruto-san you are going too fast please explain further!” Hiashi stammered. 

“I’ve learned Uzumaki seal manipulation techniques. I believe I will be able to successfully alter the seal enough so that it does not immediately kill the bearer and then remove it entirely.”

“But this new seal you speak of among the Hyuga. How soon can you create it and what would its effects be?” 

Truthfully Minato had this seal prepared during his first year in office as Hokage. Except he couldn’t really do anything for the older generation of branch Hyuga. Since he could only slightly modify existing seals back then. He wanted to make it so that the Hyuga were less divided in future generations. He just never had the opportunity to suggest it to the clan. It would have also been seen as a naive Hokage attempting to meddle in clan affairs so he hadn’t been sure how to bring it up until later in his tenure. 

“I can make it right this instant if need be. It would seal the Byakugan upon extraction as the old seal did not prevent the Byakugan from being extracted while the Hyuga were alive, yes?” Naruto didn't wait for a response and barreled on, “Generally the seal would have the same functions as the old one except this seal won’t allow for the same pain inflicting functions. It would make everyone in the Hyuga clan equal.” 

Hiashi and Neji both gaped at Naruto. Hiashi glanced at Neji who stared back at him with wide eyes. “The elders would never allow this.” Neji whispered. 

Hiashi nodded dumbly, the elders of the clan would throw a riot if this were to happen. “Naruto-san, what would this seal look like and may we inspect a copy of it before we discuss this further?” 

Naruto nodded. He pulled the fuinjutsu supplies he had liberated from the ruins of Uzushio and quickly drew up a seal. Visually it looked no different from the cross on Neji’s forehead but its functions were drastically different. 

“How can we be sure that this seal works?” Hiashi said, examining the seal closely. 

Naruto shrugged. “I suppose you could submit it to T&I for testing. The seal should lock the eyesight of any eye that it seals, in theory the Uchiha could use it as well.” 

“I see. There will be a long meeting with the elders in the Hyuga clan at some point. You must be present, Naruto-san, to defend your seal. I will send you a notification, where do you live may I ask?” 

Naruto smiled cheekily at Hiashi, “The Namikaze compound.” 

Hiashi’s eyes widened further. “I-indeed? As I suspected… You do your father proud…” 

“Thank you Hiashi-san.” Naruto said proudly. “I’ll leave you to think over my proposal for now, I have a few matches to spectate after all.” 

“A-ah. Of course. Best of luck to you in this tournament Naruto-san.” Said Neji. 

“Thank you Neji-san that was a good match.” 

“Don’t patronize me Naruto-san, you barely went all out didn’t you?” Neji asked, smiling ruefully. 

“Ah, well what can I say? Perhaps it was my fate after all?” Naruto teased. 

Neji snorted and shooed Naruto out of the room. Naruto grinned and walked out to the roaring crowd. 

Kiba and Sasuke’s match had started and they were in the middle of a furious taijutsu bout. The ground was marked with trenches from Kiba’s Gatsuga use and several trees were on fire. Akamaru darted in and out between their legs biting at Sasuke while he fended the dog off with a kick every now and then. Kiba and Sasuke’s taijutsu had obviously improved greatly. They were both faster than ever. To most civilian spectators they were just blurs that moved across the arena floor in between blinks. 

Both boys were grinning wildly as they clashed. Sasuke dropped low and swept a leg out making Kiba jump into the air. He threw shuriken into the air after Kiba but Kiba kawarimied with Sasuke, swapping places and putting him in the line of fire instead. Sasuke deflected his own shuriken, landed and threw himself back at Kiba. Kiba laughed and clawed Sasuke’s face and then jumped backwards to make space. Sasuke wiped his cheek and flipped through hand signs. He released a wave of fire at Kiba who dodged easily. Akamaru returned to Kiba’s side and Kiba tossed a food pill at the dog. Akamaru chomped down on the pill and growled, turning a bright red color. 

“Let’s go Akamaru!”

“Bark!”

Akamaru jumped onto a crouched Kiba’s back and transformed into a second Kiba. 

Kiba then formed several earth clones and rushed at Sasuke with a small army. 

Sasuke’s Sharingan flashed and he set about dispatching the clones with a pair of kunai. Earth flew in great arcs as he slashed through the clone army.

A hand shot out of the earth from below him and Sasuke yelped as he was pulled underneath the ground. 

Sasuke released a wave of lightning loosening the earth around him. He crawled out of the hole he made and yelled, “That won’t work on me ever again!” 

Kiba snickered as he emerged from the ground, “But I gotcha didn’t I? And I'll get you again!” Another hand shot out of the ground reaching for Sasuke’s leg. But Sasuke jumped away throwing shuriken down as he did. Akamaru growled at Sasuke for dodging and tunneled under again. Sasuke landed, cautiously eyeing the ground for any indication of where Akamaru would appear next. 

Kiba capitalized on the moment of inattention and tackled Sasuke. Akamaru burst from the ground behind Sasuke and jumped on top of Sasuke as well. They were unceremoniously shocked off by a wave of lightning that exploded from around Sasuke’s body. 

They both lay twitching on the ground as Sasuke pushed himself to his feet. 

“Heh. Had enough yet, dobe?” Sasuke asked, brushing some dirt off his clothes casually. 

Kiba groaned and rolled over to face Sasuke. “Hell no! Watch this! Akamaru!” 

Akamaru barked and jumped into the air. He spun, splashing Sasuke with his dynamic marking technique. Sasuke recoiled in horror. Kiba laughed and jumped into the air after Akamaru with a ram seal. 

They both disappeared into a large cloud of chakra smoke. As the smoke slowly cleared a large hulking figure loomed over the arena. A giant feral looking two headed white dog menacingly growled at Sasuke. It filled up a fifth of the large arena by itself and its fangs were the size of Sasuke’s arm. Sasuke flinched as the beast bared its teeth. 

The giant dog howled and charged at Sasuke, shaking the ground with its heavy footsteps. Sasuke dived out of the way as the Beast ran past him, the two headed dog quickly pivoted and spun into a white high speed drill, a Garouga. Sasuke’s eyes widened at the sheer speed of the attack and he shunshined out of the way. Kiba and Akamaru tore a huge trench into the ground and bore a huge dent into the arena walls as they missed. 

Sasuke sweat a bit as he examined the damage from the attack, he could not afford to get hit by that. 

The next few minutes consisted of a high speed cat and dog chase where Kiba and Akamaru relentlessly pursued Sasuke while Sasuke ran for his life. A long cat and mouse chase ensued. Only with a giant dog and a Sasuke. Sasuke nimbly bounced off the walls as Kiba and Akamaru drilled after him relentlessly. 

When the ground was covered in trenches from Kiba’s continual misses, the giant dog paused to pant for breath. Both heads slobbered in exhaustion, drooping down to the ground tiredly while Sasuke was breathing heavily. Sasuke formed a few hand signs and inhaled deeply. A large wave of lightning burst from his mouth. 

Having exhausted themselves with their continual attacks, Kiba and Akamaru were in no state to dodge. They could only tank the hit with gritted teeth. The huge dog trembled under the force of the attack and collapsed to the ground. It disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Once the smoke had cleared, Kiba and Akamaru were sprawled out on the ground breathing heavily. 

Genma walked over to Kiba and kneeled down besides him. He looked over Kiba and then raised his right arm and declared, “Inuzuka Kiba is unable to continue. Winner, Uchiha Sasuke.” 

The crowd roared in approval. The match had been flashy and exciting with many nail biting moments. They were thoroughly impressed with the genin that Kakashi had raised. 

Naruto smiled softly as Sasuke stumbled over to Kiba and offered a hand to Kiba; pulling him up from the ground. Both boys wore satisfied grins on their faces. Kiba aimed a weak punch at Sasuke and went to pick up Akamaru. They threw mild verbal jabs at each other as they slowly made their way out of the arena. 

Lee and Shino were slated for the next fight and Naruto figured that Sasuke and Kiba would be returning soon. He leaned against the arena railings and settled in to watch. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not expect updates for a long while. I have school and depression to deal with sorry guys.


End file.
